Most Americans struggle with obesity, but there are cities that devised programs to encourage healthy eating and lifestyle habits. (Photo : YouTube/AmericanBeverage)
Curbing obesity can be done, but not by demonizing specific food culprits like sweet snacks and fast food combos, by looking at people's overall diet and physical activity, according to a study by Cornell University.
The study co-authored by Dyson School of Applied Economics and management Professor David Just, uncovered a negative correlation between fast food, sweets and soft drink consumption, and body mass index.
The bottom line is that there is no food culprit when it comes to excess pounds packed by the American respondents. The Cornell University study based key findings on an estimated 6,000 people from the 2007-2008 Centers for Disease Control's National Household and Nutrition Examination Survey.
A diet that focuses mainly on the avoidance of specific foods like junk food with soda and sweets can throw people off track. It is both ineffective and self-defeating, Professor Just said.
Obsessing over certain foods and going into starvation mode are not the answers. Americans blow their diet by consuming large portions at every meal, or giving in to the propensity to eat out, clinical psychologist Julie Barnes noted.
To curb an expanding waistline and blast fat, individuals need to keep in mind that self-deprivation or over control can lead to mindless eating and binges, Market Watch reported.
In other news, certain places in the United States adopted a more proactive approach to combating obesity. In January, Ohio Mayor David Berger garnered the 2015 Childhood Obesity Prevention Award for initiating a healthy cooking and eating program participated in by culinary arts students.
