Calorie Control Council Predicts Top 5 Dieting Trends in 2011

As the hectic holiday season comes to a close and a new year approaches, many consumers are once again vowing to adopt weight loss goals to shed those unwanted pounds. But with obesity increasing at alarming levels across the globe, a number of health experts are urging a new approach to help fight the nation’s burgeoning weight problem.

Over the past three decades, obesity rates in the U.S. alone have soared among all age groups, particularly among youth where the rate has more than tripled, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While many weight loss efforts have relied on the drastic elimination of certain foods and beverages, health professionals say it’s time to focus on the adoption of small lifestyle changes that will prevent future weight gain.

“Small changes can produce big results,” says Beth Hubrich, R.D., executive director of the Calorie Control Council, an international association representing the low-calorie and reduced-fat food and beverage industry.

“Reducing portions, controlling calories, increasing physical activity and adding more “color” to the plate (e.g., including more fruits and vegetables) can help people prevent weight gain without feeling deprived. These small changes are lifestyle changes and hopefully that is what 2011 will bring – a focus on healthy changes that can be maintained for life.”

With so many Americans focusing on controlling and losing weight, what trends will emerge in 2011? The Council is making these predictions when it comes to weight loss and obesity for the coming year:

1) A focus on preventing weight gain. The average American adult gains one or two pounds every year. Over time, that annual weight gain can easily increase the risk for heart disease and other weight-related health problems. Instead of focusing on weight loss, though, some health experts are now emphasizing the adoption of small, achievable steps that will help adults avoid gaining weight. While this might seem like a minor effort in a nation where 65 percent of the population is considered overweight or obese, Dr. James O. Hill of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado Denver Health Sciences Center is convinced that these small changes – such as cutting 100 calories per day and adding 2,000 steps per day of physical activity – may help combat the obesity crisis. This emphasis on prevention has been embraced by a growing number of health professionals who say the food restriction and dieting approach has proven ineffective in curbing obesity.

“It’s always going to be harder to lose weight than to prevent weight gain in the first place. A weight ‘loss’ approach ultimately fails,” states Hill, who helped create America on the Move Foundation’s “Families on the Move” program, a national weight gain prevention initiative. “People need realistic goals, so we will continue to lose the obesity battle unless we do something qualitatively different. We have a better chance of using small, sustainable behavior changes that may be sufficient to prevent weight gain in most of the population. Walk a mile each day or take a few less bites at each meal. This approach can give us some needed optimism that we might actually be able to begin to turn the tide on the increasing prevalence of obesity.”