Winter Weight Gain

By National Institute of Health (NIH), December 18, 2014

In the bellicon blog post titled, "Avoiding Winter Weight Gain," we referenced an article published by the National Institute of Health (NIH) about a winter weight gain study that first appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine. The article gives a very concise overview of the study’s findings and also includes some interesting comments about the results from Dr. Jack A. Yanovski, M.D., Ph.D., one of the authors of the study, as well as Dr. Duane Alexander, the Director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), whose organization co-sponsored the study.

https://www.nichd.nih.gov/news/releases/Pages/holidayweightgain.aspx

The main points it makes are these:

Obesity in the US has increased dramatically. Most people overestimate their holiday weight gain, with study volunteers gaining an average of just 1.05 lb. Winter weight gain “may be a contributor to obesity later in life.” A suggestion that the “promotion of weight stability during the fall and winter months may prove useful as a strategy to prevent age-related weight gain in the United States."

LOOKING FOR MORE TIPS ON KEEPING OFF WINTER WEIGHT? ...

There are a lot of websites that offer groups of either 3, 5, 10 or more “tips to prevent winter weight gain,” but this one, from WebMD, seems to be pretty well researched: http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/5-tips-to-avoid-winter-weight-gain

Psychology Today also has a “10 ways…” list that offers suggestions that also address the emotional strain that winter can take and is worth a look. Click here to read that article.

We hope you find this information helpful in your fight to keep fit this winter!