Dieting is like a Chanel suit – it never goes out of style. There are enormous amounts of money spent on diets, on books about diets, on videos and personal trainers that could help you shrink your waistline. If you try to Google “diet” online, there would be thousands of pages filled with tips and tricks to help you lose weight and get back on track with your plans to keep fit. Dieting is a business that is most likely worth billions of dollars.
Thus, it’s no wonder a new study was issued related to dieting. The research is not entirely new, but this time it is based on objective data. It basically shows that people who decide to stick to a shopping list when buying their food supplies weigh less and are more likely to eat healthier. The results were published in the newest edition of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.
Basically, in order to conclude the study, the researchers conducted a survey in lower income neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, collecting information from people who made less than $ 20,000. Most of them were African-American and did not have a wide variety of options for eating healthy food. This is why these neighborhoods are often called “food deserts”. More than 1,300 people answered questions about their shopping habits, about their height, weight and the food they ate. One out of three people said that they usually have shopping lists when they go out to buy food.
The people who usually carry a shopping list were at least five pounds lighter than the people who never bothered about planning what to buy. Therefore, a shopping list might be a good solution to cut down on unhealthy, unnecessary food.
However, the researchers pinpoint the fact that the people who were surveyed came from very poor background. Thus, the results might not be the same for people who have higher incomes. Lead author Tamara Dubowitz, who is a senior policy researcher with RAND Corporation, said that there is a good chance the outcome might be similar even in the case of people who can afford to spend more money on food: “It makes sense that if you have a list it is a good tool to counteract some of the other influences that are shouting at us at the store, encouraging us to not necessarily engage with healthy food options,” she added. The fact that the tendency of stores is to advertise unhealthy food rather than healthy food stands as good proof for that.
When people plan what they are going to eat at home, it is easier to steer clear of those temptations that advertisements for products on sale pose. Consumers’ health has ever been on the stores’ lists of priorities. Their main target is to sell. The more you buy, the happier they are. Therefore, we are the only ones in charge of taking care of our health.
The truth is that planning your diet is always the first step to success. You can start from your shopping list. It might prove effective and it can make a huge difference in the long run.
Image Source: be-fit
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