Avoiding weight gain as you get older is not impossible. Harvard doctors have discovered some interesting research on weight gain and their results can help you from adding on pounds.

They found that reducing your intake of certain foods, getting 6 to 8 hours of sleep per night, getting some exercise and turning off the television all predicted less weight gain with time.

Additionally, they found five foods strongly linked with weight gain and five others linked with less than average weight gain.
The type and quality of food and beverage a person consumes is especially important. This new research shows how many lifestyle factors, including diet, related to long-term weight gain.

Study Details:

The researches wanted to focus on what leads to long-term weight gain and why the average adult gains about one pound per year. They followed 120,000 participants in three studies, the Nurses’ Health Study, the Nurses’ Health Study II, and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. Every four years, they evaluated the links between changes in lifestyle habits and weight.

The study participants gained an average of 3.35 pounds over each four-year period. This added up to almost 17 pounds after 20 years. At the beginning of the three studies, the men and women’s average ages were 37, 50, and 52.

5 Foods that Make You Fat, 5 that Don’t

When the researchers looked more in detail, they found five foods associated with the greatest weight gain over the study period:
• Potato chips
• Other potatoes
• Sugar-sweetened beverages
• Unprocessed red meats
• Processed meats

They also found five foods linked with less weight gain and even weight loss:
• Vegetables
• Whole grains
• Fruits
• Nuts
• Yogurt

Understanding the Findings

In order to avoid weight gain, focusing on the quality of food—not only total calories, or fat grams, or grams of carbohydrates—seems to be most important.

Surprisingly, 50 to 100 extra Calories per day may be sufficient enough to cause gradual weight gain in most people.
Small differences add up over time and this can be either a danger or an opportunity. You can end up packing on pounds quickly if you do not pay attention. However, if you do pay attention, changes could add up in a beneficial way.

Health Vending Machines

Unlike regular, junk food vending machines, healthy vending machines make healthy choices available and easy for you to make. Healthy vending machines can assist you in maintaining a healthy weight while keeping you more than satisfied. As the study above shows, the quality of the food you consume is one of the major factors involved in avoiding weight gain. Healthy vending machines offer quality snacks that won’t sneak on pounds.