Early adulthood is particularly critical for putting on weight. According to a recent study conducted at the University of Helsinki, common factors among young women and men who succeeded in managing their weight in the long term included eating regularly rather than dieting.
advertisement
"Often, people try to prevent and manage excess weight and obesity by dieting and skipping meals. In the long term, such approaches seem to actually accelerate getting fatter, rather than prevent it," says Ulla Kärkkäinen, a researcher and licensed nutritional therapist at the University of Helsinki.
The study on weight management conducted at the University of Helsinki was part of the extensive FinnTwin 16 study, with more than 4,900 young men and women as participants. The study subjects answered surveys mapping out factors impacting weight and weight change when they were 24 years of age, and again ten years later at the age of 34.
Most subjects gained weight during the decade in between. Only 7.5% of women and 3.8% of men lost weight over the period. Between the ages of 24 and 34, the mean gain in women was 0.9 kg per year, while in men the corresponding gain was 1.0 kg.
In addition to dieting and irregular eating habits, women's risk of gaining weight was increased by giving birth to two or more children, regular consumption of sweetened beverages and poor contentment with life. In men, the additional factor increasing the risk of gaining weight was smoking. Factors protecting from weight gain were physical activity in women, while in men they were a higher level of education and greater weight at the beginning of the study period.
advertisement
"Often, people try to prevent and manage excess weight and obesity by dieting and skipping meals. In the long term, such approaches seem to actually accelerate getting fatter, rather than prevent it," says Ulla Kärkkäinen, a researcher and licensed nutritional therapist at the University of Helsinki.
The study on weight management conducted at the University of Helsinki was part of the extensive FinnTwin 16 study, with more than 4,900 young men and women as participants. The study subjects answered surveys mapping out factors impacting weight and weight change when they were 24 years of age, and again ten years later at the age of 34.
Most subjects gained weight during the decade in between. Only 7.5% of women and 3.8% of men lost weight over the period. Between the ages of 24 and 34, the mean gain in women was 0.9 kg per year, while in men the corresponding gain was 1.0 kg.
In addition to dieting and irregular eating habits, women's risk of gaining weight was increased by giving birth to two or more children, regular consumption of sweetened beverages and poor contentment with life. In men, the additional factor increasing the risk of gaining weight was smoking. Factors protecting from weight gain were physical activity in women, while in men they were a higher level of education and greater weight at the beginning of the study period.
RSS Feed