The more sugar you eat, the wider your girth may be, the results of a recent study suggest.
Reported last month at the American Heart Association’s Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism/Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention 2011 Scientific Sessions, the study analyzed data on food intake and body weight collected on residents in Minneapolis-St. Paul over 27 years. Although the original data focused on heart health, the new study looked at what impact added sugar had on participants’ weight during that period.
Added sugar is sugar that is added to processed foods, as well as sweeteners added in home cooking and at the table.
“When it comes to cardiovascular disease and dietary controls, most of the focus has been on fats, but carbohydrates – sugars – are a big component of weight gain and the cardiovascular risk that results,” said Cooper University Hospital cardiologist Kathleen M. Heintz, DO, FACC, a specialist in women and heart disease at the Cooper Heart Institute.
With losing weight being one of the most common – and unfulfilled – New Year’s resolutions, it helps to remember that achieving and maintaining a healthier weight can contribute to your overall health and well being.
Perhaps the season’s emphasis on “boardwalk banquets,” pool-side margaritas and drive-by ice cream vendors has caused you to gain a few extra pounds. There are several steps you can take now to help you keep your weight from escalating and still enjoy some of your fun-in-the-sun favorites.
Research has shown that being overweight is a risk factor for many health problems, including heart disease. Research also has shown that your health can be greatly improved by a loss of just 5 to 10 percent of your starting weight. That doesn’t mean you have to stop there, but it does mean that an initial goal of losing 5 to 10 percent of your starting weight is both realistic and motivating.
Physicians at Cooper University Hospital remind you that the food choices you make today – and every day – affect your health and how you feel now and in the future. Eating right and being physically active are keys to a healthy lifestyle.
