According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 2009 fully 66% of adults in the United States are overweight or obese. Many people want to lose weight to avoid health complications of obesity such as high blood pressure, stroke, and heart attacks, but are unsure how to achieve their weight loss goals.
How Weight Loss Works
Weight loss seems like a simple phenomenon: if more calories are burned by the body than are consumed, the result is weight loss. However, the popularity of ‘fad’ diets and inaccurate perception of caloric intake can sabotage weight loss efforts, and perhaps even have further negative health consequences.
The Risks of Low-Carb Diets
For example, the Atkins diet, a weight loss method that peaked in popularity in 2003 and 2004 involves severely curtailing carbohydrate consumption and increasing protein and fat calories in one’s diet (Juliette Kellow, "The Atkins Diet Under the Spotlight", weightlossresources.co.uk, viewed on September 14, 2009). As summarized by Dr. Elaine Marieb in Essentials of Human Anatomy and Physiology (8th edition), carbohydrates are the body’s preferred source of energy, but if they are present in inadequate amounts, the body fuels its energy needs by burning fats instead. The result is weight loss, but at what cost?
A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on August 24, 2009 by Dr. Anthony Rosenzweig and other researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts suggests that the Atkins diet and other, low-carbohydrate weight loss methods are associated with increased buildup of plaque in the blood vessels that supply the heart. This buildup is linked to a greater risk of heart attack and stroke. Clearly, the long-term consequences of low carbohydrate diets such as the Atkins diet should be considered when weight loss is attempted.
How Exercise Affects Our Perception of Calories Consumed Compared to Calories Burned
Another important factor that can influence weight loss is how humans perceive the amount of calories eaten versus calories burned by exercise. Intriguingly, a recent study published in PLoS ONE by Dr. Timothy S. Church and others shows that women new to exercise who work out for moderate intervals (specifically, 194 minutes per week for 6 months) lose only half as much weight as would be predicted. Dr. Church and his co-authors hypothesize that “compensation” might be the culprit. "Compensation" means that people simply eat more calories after exercising than they would otherwise, rendering their workout less effective in terms of weight loss.
Most Effective Weight Loss Method
What, then, is the best method for losing weight? According to the weight loss section of the Mayo Clinic website (viewed September 14, 2009), the most convincing data indicate that eating a balanced diet and getting adequate exercise are still the most effective tools for weight loss. However, the key is to avoid “compensation” and maintain a realistic tally of calories burned by exercise versus calories consumed, regardless of their source.
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