By Karen Kaplan 5:53 PM EST, January 30, 2013 Attention dieters:
Many of the “facts” you think you know about obesity and weight
loss are wrong. So says a report published in Thursday’s edition
of the New England Journal of Medicine. An international team of
dietitians, doctors and other experts examined more than a dozen
ideas about obesity that are widely believed to be true but
aren’t actually supported by reliable medical evidence. It’s not
just dieters who buy into these mistaken notions, the study
authors note – much of this incorrect conventional wisdom is
espoused by physicians, academic scientists, government agencies
and (gulp) the media. Seven of these errant ideas were
classified as “myths,” meaning they are “beliefs held to be true
despite substantial refuting evidence.” Another six were
categorized as “presumptions,” or “beliefs held to be true for
which convincing evidence does not yet confirm or disprove their
truth.” Without further ado, let’s get to the myth-busting:
Eating a little less or