With all the emphasis placed on watching what you eat during the holidays, Vanderbilt Center for Human Nutrition urges Americans to look beyond the holidays and at the greater problem. Americans are chronically overeating and under-exercising year-round, Vanderbilt obesity expert, Roger Cone, PhD says.
A common belief is that people put on five pounds over the holiday season. This belief has been studied by scientists and found to be a myth, says Cone. In reality, weight gain from the Thanksgiving to New Year’s period is closer to three-quarters of a pound to one pound.
But don’t get too excited, Cone says. People typically do not become obese because of sudden, drastic weight gain, but rather by slowly gaining weight and keeping it on.
“If we do become obese it is because there is a minor difference in what we are consuming and what we are burning,” Cone said. “So the trick is to try to match your energy expenditure with your energy intake…”
Obesity, Cone points out, is a serious problem in the United States. Obesity leads to 36% higher health care costs and a 77% increase in medication costs. Vanderbilt aims to make sure the holidays don’t distract from the real problem at hand – the obesity epidemic we face as a nation.
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