Originally published on 12.22.2010.  Many people have the perception that they are likely to gain 5 or 10 pounds during the holiday season (Thanksgiving to after New Year's Day).  This myth has been propagated by media (4), partially explaining why it exists.  But since it is untrue, it does not mean it isn't important; holiday weight gain still may be an important factor in the obesity epidemic.  After all, the average weight gain per year is only ~0.2 to 0.8 kg per year (4).  Holiday weight Read more [...]

Originally published on 11.23.2010. No additional research has been done since. Tomorrow I will post the subsequent article that examined research on the entire holiday period. Is the Thanksgiving holiday a prime time for weight gain?  Is it riskier for people already overweight or currently dieting?  Unfortunately, I am only able to find 2 studies that specifically examine the effect Thanksgiving has on weight gain, and both have limitations that make definite conclusions difficult.  I summarize Read more [...]

Last night my Green Bay Packers won Super Bowl 45 (woo!).  Like many people in Wisconsin and throughout the country, I was watching the game with friends, surrounded by lots of food and drink.  I can't imagine most people are watching how much they eat during parties.  Is a temporary overindulgence ok? A couple months ago I wrote about what effect science suggests the holiday period has on weight gain.  My conclusion is that even though the it is much smaller than most people think (on Read more [...]

It is a cultural norm in various countries to give children candy for Halloween.  While I don't have kids or generalized advice on controlling their candy intake around this holiday, the flip side are the ethics of doling out junk if you allow them to come to your house.  The simplest choice would be not to allow them (but traditions are difficult to break, and adults enjoy seeing the pleasure the children get out of it), or healthy alternatives could be given instead (packages of nuts for example), Read more [...]