Put down that chip, if you can
The potato chip is the biggest demon behind that pound-a-year weight creep that plagues many of us, a major diet study found. Credit: AP
You really should eat just one -- but you can't.
A new study in the New England Journal of Medicine tracking 120,000 adults implicates potato chips as the guiltiest culprit for weight gain.
The problem with starchy foods, such as potato chips and French fries, is that they don't satisfy our hunger, so we will almost always eat them in large quantities. And those chips are especially seductive.
Our addiction to these all-or-nothing snacks means there needs to be a shift in our diets.
Obesity is already a heavy burden, estimated to cost some $147 billion in lost work days and decreased productivity, and one of the causes of runaway health care expenses.
And now, when one in five children ages 2 to 5 is already overweight, according to a report by the nonprofit Institute of Medicine, the need to change eating habits is greater than ever for our country's health and wallet.
Fortunately, there is a simple solution, though it requires a bit of discipline. Rather than eating less, those looking to lose weight should try eating right. It is the quality of food that matters when it comes to dieting. According to the same study, the foods linked to the most weight loss were nuts and yogurt, which are more filling and satisfying.
So next time you have an urge to snack, munch on a few almonds instead. Then you really can stop with just one more.
