Commercial Weight-Loss Programs and Meal Replacements

Commercial Weight Loss Programs. This report cannot possibly address the many commercial and nonprofit weight-loss programs currently available or assess their claims. Most of the commercial programs, such as Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, and NutriSystem offer lifestyle changes and packaged meals. Most tend to be expensive and have not publicized their results.

Commercial Meal Replacements. Studies are reporting good success with meal replacement beverages (Slim-Fast, Sweet Success). They contains major nutrients needed for daily requirements, each serving typically contains between 200 to 250 calories and replaces one meal. (Using them for all meals reduces calories to a severe extent and can be harmful.) One reported that most subjects who had undergone a 12-week weight loss program and then used Ultra Slim Fast supplements as directed for maintenance kept off more than half their weight loss after more than three years. A quarter of the subjects was still losing weight.

Exercise

As people age, they need to exercise more to keep off the same amount of weight. In spite of this, a 2001 study reported that over half of American adults either do not exercise regularly or at all. Exercise, which replaces fat with muscle, is the critical companion for any weight control program. Moreover, exercise improves overall health. In fact, a British study found that overweight fit individuals have half the death rate of unfit trim individuals. Studies show that exercise has the following benefits:

• burns calories
• improves metabolism
• suppresses appetite
• lowers risk for coronary artery disease and high blood pressure
• improves insulin sensitivity

It should be noted that because obesity is so often related to heart and other diseases, anyone who is overweight must discuss their exercise program with a physician before starting. The following are some suggestions and observations on exercise and weight loss:

• Most experts recommend building up to 45 to 60 minutes a day of mostly aerobic exercise, such as hiking, brisk walking, or energetic dancing.
• The treadmill burns the most calories, and may be particularly effective when used in short multiple bouts during the day. In fact, frequent exercise sessions as short as 10 minutes in duration may be the most successful program for obese people.
• Although even vigorous workouts do not immediately burn great numbers of calories, the metabolism remains elevated after exercise, and the more strenuous the exercise, the longer the metabolism continues to burn calories before returning to its resting level. This state of elevated metabolism can last for as little as a few minutes after light exercise to as long as several hours after prolonged or heavy exercise.