This 'n That Thursdays: Surprising Weight Loss Factors

From AARP Maryland

Have you made any resolutions for the New Year?  Does your list include losing weight as one of your goals?  I recently read about a few factors that seem to influence whether or not you will be successful (see articles here and here), and they may not be what you think!  Below is a short list of unusual influences that you may not have considered when deciding to shed those pesky extra pounds:

From Odyssey

1) Living in close proximity to a gym (less than half a mile) increases your chances of weight loss success, especially for women and those with higher incomes.

From The Tub Connection

2) People who fidget a lot are more likely to maintain an ideal weight - this spontaneous physical activity includes walking, standing, cooking, gardening, and other non-exercise activities.

From Modern Salon

3) The consumption of spicy foods seems to be correlated with a lower incidence of obesity as well as better health, possibly due to the capsaicin found in hot peppers which modestly increases metabolism (and other spices such as ginger, cinnamon, and turmeric may also help keep weight under control by reducing inflammation).

From Colorado.com

4) Living at higher elevations seems to reduce obesity incidence, perhaps because of the higher metabolic demands of lower oxygen levels and/or reduced appetite caused by increased sympathetic nervous system activity.

From trace|work

5) Those who live in big cities (populations of one million or more people) may be less likely to carry excess weight, although other studies have found just the opposite to be true, so more work is needed in teasing out just what is healthy about living in a large metro area (increased walkability and/or better diet?) and what is not (easier access to high-calorie fast foods and/or less work-related physical activity?).

Image at left from NetCost Market Philadelphia;
image at right from Discover Magazine Blogs.

6) Eating foods as a sit-down meal rather than as a stand-up snack leads to lower calorie consumption and thus a greater likelihood of maintaining a healthy weight (those who ate more food as a snack consumed up to 50% more calories in a day than those who sat down to meals!).

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Obviously most people are not in a position to change a lot of these factors in their lives.  In a more general sense, however, these findings suggest that a more active lifestyle and a focus on healthy food choices, both simple common sense rules, are the best way to increase your chances of achieving your weight loss goals for 2018.  Give it a try, and good luck!