Eating less fat and doing more exercise is the simplest and the straightest way to slimming, says a new study that vindicates a common sense approach to weight loss.
Scientists at Harvard Medical School, Boston surveyed 4,000 obese adults and found those who followed the common sense advice were much more likely to lose weight than those who adopted fad slimming regimes, went on liquid diets or bought costly weight-loss supplements.
Christina Wee, who helped compile the study at Harvard, said: "There are lots of fad diets out there as well as expensive over-the-counter medications that have not necessarily been proven to be effective. So it's very encouraging to find that most of the weight-loss methods associated with success are accessible and inexpensive."
Researchers found 41 percent of those who cut their fat intake were more likely to have shed five percent of their body weight in under a year than those who went on liquid diets, used non-prescription dieting supplements or followed popular slimming regimes, the American Journal of Preventive Medicine reported.
And if they exercised more than usual, they were almost 30 percent more likely to lose the weight. Although five percent weight loss may not sound significant, experts say it is enough to delay the onset of diabetes in an obese person, according to the Daily Mail.
And the 'Not Rocket Science' diet helped many volunteers shed more weight, with 37 percent of those who cut down on fat more likely to lose a tenth of their body weight, while exercising boosted their chances by 6 percent.
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