No Need to Go to Extremes to Lose Weight

04 July 2011

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I’m Shirley Griffith.

BOB DOUGHTY: And I’m Bob Doughty. Today, we will talk about diet and weight loss. Exercise is important if you want to get in good shape. But experts say exercise alone is not enough if your goal is to lose weight.

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SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: It is that time of year again. Warm weather has returned to earth’s northern hemisphere. Summer is a time when people of all ages feel like getting their swimwear and going to the nearest swimming pool or seashore.

A man uses a smartphone to photograph and track his weight on a scale in his office in Pennsylvania

But first, there is that troublesome little thing called winter weight gain. Many of us gain weight because of inactivity during the winter.

Some people go to extremes to lose that extra weight before going to the beach. In the weight loss industry, there is never a lack of ideas about how to lose weight. Consider the "Sleeping Beauty diet," where you sleep your way to weight loss. You cannot eat if you are sleeping, or so the theory goes.

Then there is the tapeworm diet. The tapeworm is said to help people lose weight by eating the food that is stored in their stomach. But first you have to be willing to swallow the little creature. This may be more trouble than many people want.