What you thought you knew about obesity is wrong

So imagine my shock to discover that what evidence exists in this new study hints towards ambitious goals being a good thing, and that quicker weight loss isn't less likely to be kept off in the long-term.

People will say eating breakfast is a good idea when you're trying to lose weight, because it will keep you from binging later. But studies show that there's no protective effect from eating breakfast at all. People will say that eating more fruits and vegetables is a great way to lost weight. But studies show that, on their own, eating more of them without making other behavioral changes doesn't result in any weight loss. There's no magic to fruits and vegetables.

People will say that snacking in between meals can lead to weight gain. But studies don't show that to be the case either. In general, people compensate for snacking throughout the rest of the day. In other words, it's not necessarily bad to snack outside of usual meal times.

It's all enough to cause one to despair. But just because so much of what we believe is wrong doesn't mean we still can't do something about the issue.