TAG | Behavior Change
Do you ever engage in “mindless eating?”
According to Brian Wansink of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab, Americans often do. And it typically leads to overeating and eventually overweight and obesity.
At the “Food for Your Whole Life” Symposium in NYC these last 2 days, there’s been lots of discussion about how we make and sustain lifestyle changes – or don’t. We’ve heard about everything from wholesale changes (a rancher who switched to a vegan diet) to small steps that add up over time. All for the purpose of better health now as well as preventing chronic diseases caused by obesity, such as diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers.
Dr. Wansink introduced the concept of a “ripple effect.” It’s about building on small successes. He described a pilot study his group recently conducted with 2000 participants who chose small changes to make in their diet for three months. Each group made one small change in their eating behavior, and that’s it.
Even though they weren’t making any effort to lose weight those who chose the change of using smaller plates at meals lost an average of almost 2 lbs during that time. The individuals who made the decision to only eat in the kitchen or dining room lost an average of 1.5 lbs.
That’s interesting, but the best part is that the weight loss was 53% higher in the 3rd month than in the 1st month. The reason? The participants reported making other small changes throughout the 3 months. As they made simple changes and were able to sustain that, they added other changes. A ripple effect of one small change.
To begin your own ripple effect see AICR’s tips on making small changes in your diet for cancer prevention.
Let us know what small change you’ve made to move toward a healthier lifestyle.
Forget serving bowls. If you’re trying to cut back to lose some weight, a simple strategy may help in a big way.
According to a Cornell University study titled “Serve Here; Eat There,” if you leave the serving dishes off the table you may eat less.
The researchers studied the amount of food 78 adults ate under different conditions. They served some meals from the kitchen (“plated the food”) and allowed serving dishes to be on the table at other meals.
They found that people refilled their plates fewer times if food was served from the kitchen. Overall, people ate 20% fewer calories (men ate about 29% less) when serving dishes were absent from the table.
Finding healthy ways to reduce extra body fat could help Americans reduce cancer cases by 100,000 every year according to AICR. Learning to eat smaller portions and limiting “seconds” is one strategy experts say works.
So to lower your risk for cancer and other chronic disease, try this at home: Serve the food in the kitchen and leave the serving dishes off the table – with one exception. Leave vegetable serving bowls on the table. You may find you and your family emptying the vegetable bowl rather than filling up on pasta or meat.
How do you serve your meals?
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“A Sea-Change in How the US Approaches Disease Prevention”
0 Comments | Posted by Glen in Diet, Prevention Policy, Research
Great short piece on America Public Media’s Marketplace Morning Report on a story that hasn’t gotten the attention it should: How the new healthcare legislation broadens our national approach to diseases like cancer by placing an unprecedented amount of focus on prevention. Take a listen.
Understand: More and better prevention efforts are sorely needed and long overdue. But if there’s one thing our policy report made clear, it’s that government can’t do it alone. All levels of society – industry, schools, health professionals, the media, individuals – helped get us to where we are now, and must play a role in the kind of sweeping societal changes needed to make it easier for everyone to make healthy, cancer protective choices.
How are our policy report’s 49 recommendations addressed in the new legislation? What, exactly, remains to be done? It’ll take some time to tease out those answers.
In the meantime, count on the American Institute for Cancer Research for practical everyday advice that’s based on research your generosity makes possible — research that reveals how you can help protect yourself from cancer.
Do your friends contribute to your unhealthy food choices?
According to a series of studies published in the Journal of Consumer Research, they may do just that.
In the first study, some participants were asked to select four foods for a friend. They could choose from 16 foods – a mixture of “healthy” and “indulgent” choices. The other participants were to choose from the same foods for themselves.
Those choosing for themselves selected a healthy balance of healthy and indulgent foods, while the other group chose mostly indulgent foods.
The second study at a supermarket found that shoppers did, in fact, purchase more indulgent foods for friends and family. Yet another study in the series showed that when aware of their friends’ health goals, people chose a more balanced mix of foods.
The authors note that this could be a real public health problem as it may be yet another contributor to Americans’ weight problem. Overweight and obesity are a cause of certain cancers, heart disease, diabetes and other chronic diseases.
How can you help your friends and family with their health goals?
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Today is World Cancer Day
0 Comments | Posted by Glen in Diet, Physical Activity, Prevention Policy, Research
February 4th is World Cancer Day - an annual global awareness-raising initiative organized by the International Union Against Cancer (UICC) that shines a spotlight on the small, everyday changes that can lower cancer risk.
AICR welcomes World Cancer Day 2010 as an opportunity to share the vital, life-saving, evidence-based message that we are not powerless before this disease. The evidence is in, and its shows that steps can be taken, by anyone, at any age, to help protect against cancer.
AICR President Marilyn Gentry shares her thoughts on this important day.
Meanwhile, AICR is marking World Cancer Day by launching two translated summaries of our major policy report, Policy and Action for Cancer Prevention. This report translates the scientific evidence into clear recommendations that show how all levels of society – government, individuals, schools, workplaces, the media, and more – can work together to reduce cancer incidence around the globe.
Working with the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), we’ve produced a Spanish summary of the policy report that tailors recommendations to Latin American countries and regions.
We’ve also partnered with the Brazilian National Cancer Institute (INCA) to produce a Portuguese summary that speaks to the policy makers in Brazil and other countries where cancer rates are rising.
We’re launching both translations today, at events in Washington and Rio de Janeiro. We’ll keep you posted.
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From AICR eNEWS: 12 Days of Holiday Fitness
0 Comments | Posted by Glen in Physical Activity
Just 12 days to ’till Christmas.
If you feel like you’ve been swimming against the (Yule) tide this year, this month’s AICR eNews has 12 tips for staying fit and active.
Our production assistant Becky strapped on a pedometer and recorded how many steps it took her to perform various seasonal activities – everything from decking the halls to trimming the tree.
Check out her article to see how she did.
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Sweat the Small Stuff: Small Changes Make a Difference
0 Comments | Posted by Glen in From the 2009 AICR Research Conference, Physical Activity
This time of year can get crazy, and many of us get through it by telling ourselves that we’ll start taking better care of our health — AFTER the holidays are over.
“I’ll run a marathon!” ”I’ll head to the gym every morning!” ”I’ll bike to work!”
All laudable goals, to be sure. But one speaker at our Research Conference argued that such sudden, sweeping changes are tough to make permanent, and only set us up for failure.
We wrote about him, and his preferred approach to getting more activity, lowering weight — and lowering cancer risk — in this month’s AICR eNews.
(Have you subscribed yet?)
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Cardio Fitness for Cognitive Fitness
0 Comments | Posted by Alice RD in From the 2009 AICR Research Conference, Physical Activity
Could more exercise make you smarter? Yes, according to a large population study that showed a positive association between cardiovascular fitness and cognitive performance.
The authors looked at information from more than 1 million men from Sweden born between 1950 and 1976. They analyzed the physical activity and intelligence measures in these men at age 15 and again at age 18. Improved cardiovascular fitness at age 18 was associated with improvements in logical, verbal and other aspects of intelligence.
These results held even after adjusting for genetics and shared environment. The authors caution that since only men were included in the study, the results might not be applicable to women.
So, whether you want to get better grades, wow your boss, or just feel better, AICR has some ideas to help you start and maintain your physical activity this holiday season.
Check out these creative ideas from AICR’s December E-news articles:
Twelve Days of Holiday Fitness
AICR’s expert panel found convincing evidence that physical activity decreases risk for colon cancer, probably decreases risk for post menopausal breast cancer and cancer of the endometrium. Check our earlier blog postings from the AICR Research Conference on physical activity – how it impacts cancer prevention and survival and how we can improve our sedentary habits.
