Is the Old Adage Calories In Vs. Calories Out Enough to Guide Weight Loss?

Probably not. Although technically calories in versus calories out is a good guideline for how the body gains and loses weight: if you consume more calories than you burn off resulting in a net gain of calories, you'll gain weight (and vice versa), it's not enough to help people effectively manage their weight.

Researchers from Harvard reviewed information gathered in the Nurses' Health Study, Nurses' Health Study II and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study over study periods of 12-20 years. Every 2 years, the nurses, doctors, dentists and veterinarians in the study filled out detailed questionnaires about their eating habits and weight.

The average participant gained 3.35 pounds every 4 years or 16.8 pounds over 20 years.

So, what's not surprising?

• people gained weight as the aged


• exercise helped prevent weight gain


• weight gain was gradual over the years but added up over the long run


• foods associated with the most weight gain included french fries, potato chips, sugar-sweetened beverages and processed meats

What surprised me?

• yogurt was the food most strongly linked to weight loss


• people who slept less than 6 hours or more than 8 hours per night tended to gain the most (I was surprised that the long sleepers gained a lot too.)


• drinking wine (1 glass/day) did not affect weight but increasing intake of other forms of alcohol did cause weight gain

Check out a great summary of the results published in the The New England Journal of Medicine at the NY Times here: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/19/health/19brody.html?_r=2