On the KTLA news the other day, reporters referred to a study by Cornell University’s Food and Brand Laboratory published in Obesity Science and Practice. They found that fast food and junk food are not the reasons why more than 40% of adults in this country are overweight or obese. Naturally, these foods are for the most part unhealthy for the body, especially since they contain a huge amount of calories, the study finds that the main reason for weight gain comes down to overeating.
In other words, eating too many calories than the body needs to function effectively. When this happens, the excess calories are stored in the body as fat. If you regularly overeat, which many people do, the only alternative that will happen is that the number on the scale will increase little by little, week by week.
Study Shows Fast Food Is NOT The Reason For Obesity!
Does that mean it’s okay to eat junk food like chips, sodas, and juices, along with large orders of fries and burgers from the local fast food joint? Again, the most important thing to keep in mind is the number of calories consumed in a single session.
Let’s say, for example, that your daily goal to maintain your current body weight is 1700 calories. In other words, that means that from the time you wake up until you go to sleep, 1,700 calories is all you put into your body.
Now fast-forward to lunchtime, and he decides to stop at the local Carl’s Jr. burger joint. He decides to order his favorite meal, which turns out to be a double western bacon cheeseburger combo with large fries and a soda. This meal has a total of 1,790 calories!
Even if you weren’t going to eat anything else all day, you’ve already exceeded your daily calorie allotment. That’s not to mention if he refilled your soda, he ordered a dessert, or any other type of additional items that tempted you when placing your order.
Back to the business at hand. Since total calories are of the utmost importance, this should be what you decide to eat. That western double bacon combo really shouldn’t be picked, especially since you found out exactly how huge the calorie count is. However, if you cut that meal exactly in half, you’ll end up with 895 calories, which is much more manageable and still leaves you with 705 calories for the rest of the day.
Yes, it’s going to be hard to eat half of a fast food combo meal unless you have someone there to share it with you. But then again, the choices you make come down to your shoulders. Rather than put yourself in that tempting position, especially when you’re hungry, don’t go to places where you’ll be forced to decide between what you may have been used to eating or something healthier.
By doing this, you will make this problem much more conducive to weight loss, or at least weight control, and you will get a better handle on healthy nutrition rather than having to deal with the reason for obesity.