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Keeping a Food Diary Doubles Weight Loss
New York, NY
Friday, July 18, 2008
Contact: Michele DeLia, (646) 633-4075
For Immediate Release
An Account of What You Eat Leads to More Conscious Eating and Diet Success, Study Claims
New York, NY-July 18, 2008 - Can taking "write" action lead to the right way of eating for you? Writing down what you eat during your daily meals in a food diary can double a person's weight loss, according to a study from Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research. The findings, which will be published in the August issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, are from one of the largest and longest-running weight-loss maintenance trials ever undertaken.
"The more food records people kept, the more weight they lost," said lead author Jack Hollis of Kaiser Permanente. "Those who kept daily food records lost twice as much weight as those who kept no records. It seems that the simple act of writing down what you eat encourages people to consume fewer calories"
"This study calls attention to the need for everyone to be conscious of what they eat every day," said Joshua Rosenthal, founder and director of the New York-based Institute for Integration Nutrition. "A food diary - simply writing it down--leaves an account and makes us accountable"
Integrative Nutrition's graduates utilize food diaries as part of their health counseling programs with clients.
"It's great to see a scientific study back up what we've done for years as health counselors," Rosenthal said.
Kaiser Permanente describes its program as follows: "In addition to keeping food diaries and turning them in at weekly support group meetings, participants were asked to follow a heart-healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables. After six months, the average weight loss among the nearly 1,700 participants was approximately 13 pounds. More than two-thirds of the participants (69 percent) lost at least nine pounds, enough to reduce their health risks and qualify for the second phase of the study, which lasted 30 months and tested strategies for maintaining the weight loss"
"The study's program is similar to the common sense approach we advocate at Integrative Nutrition," Rosenthal said. "It is about examining what you eat. No matter what you like to eat, you can always eat consciously. For example, Oprah Winfrey has recently committed to being a more conscious eater. With an inspirational, public figure like Oprah, the idea of conscious eating will quickly spread throughout America. Some people thrive on a vegan diet, others need to eat meat to feel healthy. The best way to find out what works for you is to experiment"
"More than two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese. If we all lost just nine pounds, like the majority of people in this study did, our nation would see vast decreases in hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease and stroke," said study co-author Victor Stevens of Kaiser Permanente.
ABOUT THE INSTITUTE FOR INTEGRATIVE NUTRITION
For 15 years, The Institute for Integrative Nutrition has been at the forefront of holistic nutrition education, offering comprehensive, cutting-edge training in health counseling. Founded by Joshua Rosenthal, the Institute for Integrative Nutrition is the only nutrition school integrating the vast variety of dietary theories, while combining the knowledge of traditional philosophies with modern concepts, such as the USDA food pyramid, the glycemic index, the Zone and raw, organic foods.
For more information, visit www.integrativenutrition.com. To schedule an interview with Joshua Rosenthal, please contact Michele DeLia at 646-633-4075 or e-mail michele@integrativenutrition.com.
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For Immediate Release
Keeping a Food Diary Doubles Weight Loss
An Account of What You Eat Leads to More Conscious Eating and Diet Success, Study Claims
New York, NY-July 18, 2008 - Can taking "write" action lead to the right way of eating for you? Writing down what you eat during your daily meals in a food diary can double a person's weight loss, according to a study from Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research. The findings, which will be published in the August issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, are from one of the largest and longest-running weight-loss maintenance trials ever undertaken.
"The more food records people kept, the more weight they lost," said lead author Jack Hollis of Kaiser Permanente. "Those who kept daily food records lost twice as much weight as those who kept no records. It seems that the simple act of writing down what you eat encourages people to consume fewer calories"
"This study calls attention to the need for everyone to be conscious of what they eat every day," said Joshua Rosenthal, founder and director of the New York-based Institute for Integration Nutrition. "A food diary - simply writing it down--leaves an account and makes us accountable"
Integrative Nutrition's graduates utilize food diaries as part of their health counseling programs with clients.
"It's great to see a scientific study back up what we've done for years as health counselors," Rosenthal said.
Kaiser Permanente describes its program as follows: "In addition to keeping food diaries and turning them in at weekly support group meetings, participants were asked to follow a heart-healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables. After six months, the average weight loss among the nearly 1,700 participants was approximately 13 pounds. More than two-thirds of the participants (69 percent) lost at least nine pounds, enough to reduce their health risks and qualify for the second phase of the study, which lasted 30 months and tested strategies for maintaining the weight loss"
"The study's program is similar to the common sense approach we advocate at Integrative Nutrition," Rosenthal said. "It is about examining what you eat. No matter what you like to eat, you can always eat consciously. For example, Oprah Winfrey has recently committed to being a more conscious eater. With an inspirational, public figure like Oprah, the idea of conscious eating will quickly spread throughout America. Some people thrive on a vegan diet, others need to eat meat to feel healthy. The best way to find out what works for you is to experiment"
"More than two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese. If we all lost just nine pounds, like the majority of people in this study did, our nation would see vast decreases in hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease and stroke," said study co-author Victor Stevens of Kaiser Permanente.
ABOUT THE INSTITUTE FOR INTEGRATIVE NUTRITION
For 15 years, The Institute for Integrative Nutrition has been at the forefront of holistic nutrition education, offering comprehensive, cutting-edge training in health counseling. Founded by Joshua Rosenthal, the Institute for Integrative Nutrition is the only nutrition school integrating the vast variety of dietary theories, while combining the knowledge of traditional philosophies with modern concepts, such as the USDA food pyramid, the glycemic index, the Zone and raw, organic foods.
For more information, visit www.integrativenutrition.com. To schedule an interview with Joshua Rosenthal, please contact Michele DeLia at 646-633-4075 or e-mail michele@integrativenutrition.com.
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Michele DeLia
The Institute for Integrative Nutrition
New York, NY
(646) 633-4075
(212) 730-5346
