Healthy Living

Potato chips come in many shapes and sizes. And for most people, the slogan “you can’t eat just one” is true.

And that’s the problem.

Eating things like potato chips and french fries on a regular basis inevitably leads to weight gain. We’ve always known that, and now a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine quantifies this.

For example, if you eat one more serving per day of french fries than you currently do, that alone would lead to a 3.4-pound gain over four years. One additional serving of potato chips would lead to a 1.69-pound gain. Sugary drinks and processed meats were also high on the list.

The Harvard researchers who conducted the study say that while the results might seem obvious, what it points out is that simply cutting down calories is not enough — it’s the kind of calories that count. Some people are surprised that, according to the study, potato chips and french fries leads to more weight gain than doughnuts or desserts.

It’s no wonder that people in this day and age tend to gain a pound per year as they age. Junk food is more prevalent than ever before, and if your activity declines as you age, you will likely pile on the pounds.

But here is the good news. If you add a serving of some foods, you can actually lose weight. According to the study, they include:

• Yogurt
• Nuts
• Fruits
• Whole grains
• Vegetables.

The reason for this is probably that the more of these foods you eat, the less room you have for the junk food alternatives.

At the Backus Weight Loss Center, we encourage our patients to make lifestyle changes that they can maintain over many years, whether that means exercising or eating the right foods. That advice is good for everyone, because even if you aren’t overweight now, the pounds tend to creep on later in life, and it gets harder to lose them.

Mark Tousignant, MD, is Medical Director of the Backus Weight Loss Center and specializes in minimally invasive weight loss surgery. The information in this column should not replace the advice of your personal physician. If you want to comment on this column or others, visit the Healthy Living blog at www.backushospital.org/backus-blogs or e-mail Dr. Tousignant or any of the Healthy Living columnists at healthyliving@wwbh.org