Many people may be afraid to step on the scale after a Thanksgiving dinner filled with turkey, stuffing and pecan pie, but past research shows people may not gain as much over the holidays as they believe.
People think they gain five to 10 pounds from Thanksgiving to New Years Day, but they really gain about one pound during this time of year, according a study published in New England Journal of Medicine in 2000. Researchers at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) did the study.
"A pound doesn't seem like very much, but people gain a pound and don't lose it," said Susan Veldheer, registered dietitian at Hershey Medical Center. "If an 18-year-old gains a pound and doesn't lose it, then over the course of their life, by the time they reach 70 years of age, they'll have an extra 52 pounds on them, which puts them in the obese category."
The study proved that not only do people gain about one pound over the holidays, but they do not lose it once the holidays are over, she said. It is a very gradual weight gain in healthy individuals, but the study showed obese patients gained about five pounds, she said.
"The study said the obese patients gained more weight, since they weren't active to start with. They didn't compensate [the overeating] with activity," Veldheer said.
The researchers measured the weight and recorded participants' health information for 195 volunteers that ranged in age from 19 to 82 and in weight from 95 to 306 pounds, according to the New England Journal of Medicine. The participants were weighed at six-week intervals before, during and after the holiday season, and 165 participants returned to be measured again one year after the study began, according to the Journal.
The volunteers gained 1.05 pounds by late February or early March. Most of the weight gain, 0.8 of a pound, occurred during the six weeks between Thanksgiving and New Years Day. The researchers also asked the volunteers what other factors may have influenced the weight gain and found that two main factors -- level of hunger and level of activity -- were the most common answers, according to the Journal.
"It's food availability. You see it, you eat it. Also, you tend to eat more when you're with people," said Rose Martin, instructor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at Penn State.
To avoid overeating at the Thanksgiving table, people should set a mental plan before dinner of what they are going to eat, she said. Also, it is better to use calories on solid foods, such as turkey or stuffing, rather than liquids, like alcohol or eggnog.
"We're better at regulating solid calories, rather than liquid," Martin said.
It also helps to not come to the table completely famished, as people tend to eat quicker, since they are so hungry. A good tip to follow is the 3-1 ratio. For every three good foods on the plate, people can have one bad food, she said.
"I'm not a proponent saying there is a six-week binging period between Thanksgiving and New Years, that is a mindset people tend to get into," Veldheer said. "It's not difficult to see why people overeat; the best of the best is at Thanksgiving."
