‘Don’t eat pasta,’ ‘Avoid any meats,’ ‘Eat only water, honey, and cayenne pepper‘ — though nutrition activists offer no lack of weight-loss advice, when it comes to consistency they come up short. In a classic case of "quantity versus quality," food cop dictums are plentiful, but not generally useful in the long-term. In contrast, the September issue of Scientific American boils down weight loss into one concise recommendation: physical activity.
The National Weight Control Registry collects the success stories of people who have lost at least 30 pounds and kept it off for a minimum of one year. The average individual in the group has maintained a weightloss of 70 pounds for over six years — a sharp contrast to the average American dieter who ends up regaining any weight lost and then some. James Hill, a psychologist who helps run the registry, divulged to Scientific American the secret to successful weight loss:
