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Small Changes
Can Make a Difference
Several studies now provide evidence
that small steps toward healthier eating really can make a difference.
The key, it seems, is to identify the long-term target you want
to achieve and to find changes that fit your lifestyle so you
have a better chance of continuing those changes.
One study took typical American
eating habits through a series of transitions. The starting point
was a seven-day menu that reflected normal intake, according
to national dietary surveys. The researchers took the seven-day
menus through three different "transitional menus"
that included one to three small changes in each meal, each building
on the menu before it. Then one more set of small changes was
made to reach target menus, which were based on the 2005 Dietary
Guidelines for Americans and MyPyramid food patterns. |
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The researchers reportedly focused
on changes they thought would be realistic. For example, a lunch
of a sandwich with chips and a soft drink might initially switch
to a low fat sandwich filling with chips and a few raw vegetables.
Later, it might switch to a more nutritious bread and beverage;
and still later the diner would add more vegetables to replace
all the chips. A salad could gradually change from a small bowl
of plain iceberg lettuce with creamy dressing, to darker greens
with veggies and a healthier dressing.
Recently, a task force of nutrition
professionals, researchers, food scientists and producers convened
to evaluate the feasibility of a "small steps approach"
focused on reducing obesity. According to a report in the American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the task force concluded that
small changes easy to achieve and maintain may have greater impact
on weight control than larger changes that can’t be sustained.
The report states that small
changes decreasing consumption by just 100 calories per day (or
increasing calories burned comparably) are enough to halt the
current average yearly one- to two-pound weight gain. For people
already overweight, losing 20 to 30 pounds will probably require
a drop in calorie consumption and increase in calorie-burning
that total 175 to 250 calories a day; losing 40 to 60 pounds
may require changing overall calorie balance by 325 to 480 calories
a day. Yet even these totals could be reached with a few small
changes throughout the day.
People can find examples of small
changes they might like to try at several Web sites, such as
www.smallstep.gov.
ASPIRE is a study that tested whether the theoretical advantages
of a small steps approach really occur. It compared results in
Aspiring for Lifelong Health, a program based on small changes,
to those in a more traditional program pushing for faster results.
Both the small steps and traditional programs included twice-weekly
strength-training and endurance exercise sessions and encouraged
additional exercise at home. The small steps program asked participants
to add one new small change in food choices and one small change
in physical activity each week for 12 weeks.
Participants in both treatment
programs lost weight and maintained their weight loss for three
months after treatment ended. But the small changes group lost
substantially more weight during the program. Now we need further
research to see if these results can be repeated over a longer
follow-up period. |
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