|
 As
Alan learned in" Doctor
Empathy," "eat less, exercise more" may not be the
most appealing advice, but it is the most effective way to
lose weight. Or is it? One doctor noticed some of his patients
simply could not shed pounds, despite eating as little as
800 calories a day. The truth behind this paradox turned out
to be quite simple, but the implications -for dieters and
doctors alike- are profound.
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Truth
Serum
One
out of every three adult Americans is obese- 25 percent above
the optimal body weight- and the numbers are climbing ever
higher. Associated with heart disease, stroke, cancer and
diabetes, obesity is linked with some 300,000 preventable
deaths and costs an estimated $165 billion in health care
and lost productivity.
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| Dr.
Heymsfield consults with a patient |
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However,
as America's collective waistline has grown, so has scientific
understanding of the genetics, biochemistry and even psychology
that regulate weight gain and loss. Despite the public's love
affair with pills and powders and other "miracle" diets, the
data keep telling us to simply eat less, move more.
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"Obesity is associated with some 300,000 preventable
deaths and costs an estimated $165 billion in health care
and lost productivity."
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But
Dr. Steven Heymsfield, an obesity specialist at St. Luke's-Roosevelt
Hospital Center in New York City, found one group of people
for whom the "eat-less-move-more" mantra did not work. Heymsfield's
patients were keeping food records as part of standard obesity
treatment. Despite reporting daily caloric intakes as low
as 800 calories a day (a 150-pound person requires at least
1500 calories per day) these patients weren't losing an ounce
of body fat. What was going on?
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| Study
participant Chantal samples the truth-telling water |
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"We
saw so many people telling us they didn't over eat," says
Heymsfield. "Yet their weight didn't drop. This clinical observation
prompted a study."
Heymsfield
had twenty seemingly weight-loss-resistant patients consume
isotope-laced water that would allow researchers to track
exactly how many calories each patient expended. If someone
eats fewer calories than he or she expends, weight loss occurs.
If that person consumes more, weight gain happens. Therefore,
someone who has exerted 3000 calories, but does not show any
weight loss on the scale, must necessarily have eaten 3000
calories as well. But Heymsfield did not tell his patients
what the water was for. Without knowing that the special water
would essentially double-check their accuracy, the patients
kept their usual food diaries for two weeks before returning
to Heymsfield's clinic.
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