Energy balance
Reducing daily energy intake or increasing physical activity by approximately 100 kcal/day is sufficient to prevent population-wide weight gain and arrest the obesity epidemic.
To stop gaining weight, you do not need to overhaul your life. Aim to create a 100-calorie daily deficit. You can achieve this by walking one extra mile (about 15-20 minutes) each day, or by simply eating three fewer bites at each meal. These small, sustainable adjustments are enough to counteract the environmental pressures causing weight gain for most people.
Using data from national surveys, we estimate that affecting energy balance by 100 kilocalories per day (by a combination of reductions in energy intake and increases in physical activity) could prevent weight gain in most of the population.
Why this rating
Based on retrospective epidemiological data (NHANES/CARDIA) and theoretical modeling, not a randomized controlled trial of the specific 100 kcal intervention.
Source
Obesity and the Environment: Where Do We Go from Here?
James O. Hill et al. · Science · 2003
DOI 10.1126/science.1079857
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