Yahoo News recently reported on a study conducted by Harvard University scientists that analyzed changes in diet and lifestyle habits of 120,877 people. The weight of the participants was measured every four years for up to two decades. And on average, participants gained nearly 17 pounds over the 20-year period.
But the fascinating thing about the study was they were able to link specific foods and activities to a precise amount of weight gain.
And the biggest offender was... potato chips!
Each daily serving of potato chips containing 1 ounce (only about 15 chips) led to a 1.69-pound increase over four years. For potatoes other than chips, the gain was 1.28 pounds. Other foods or actions they were able to correlate to weight gain included:
One of the leaders of the study, Dr. Frank Hu noted, “There is no magic bullet for weight control. Diet and exercise are important for preventing weight gain,but diet clearly plays a bigger role.”
But the fascinating thing about the study was they were able to link specific foods and activities to a precise amount of weight gain.
And the biggest offender was... potato chips!
Each daily serving of potato chips containing 1 ounce (only about 15 chips) led to a 1.69-pound increase over four years. For potatoes other than chips, the gain was 1.28 pounds. Other foods or actions they were able to correlate to weight gain included:
• Soda added a 1 pound increase.
• An alcoholic drink per day: 0.41 pound increase.
• Sweets and desserts: 0.41 pound increase.
• Watching an hour of TV per day: 0.31 pound increase.
• Quitting smoking: 5 pound increase.
