Increasing fiber consumption could be a simple change to aid with weight loss and boost other areas of health, according to a new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Researchers at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst wanted to test a theory that increasing fiber would be an easier to follow and more effective diet than the complex American Heart Association diet.Unlike the AHA diet, which restricts dieters from consuming certain foods, the high-fiber diet simply encourages people to eat more fiber-filled foods.The researchers believed that as this approach is more permissive, people might find it easier to stick with than restrictive dieting. The researchers say that both diets were effective at providing clinically significant weight loss as well as offering protective benefits against diabetes and metabolic syndrome."We were encouraged to see the decline of fasting insulin in the high-fiber group at 12 months," says Dr. Yunsheng Ma, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine at UMass."Long-term improvements in insulin resistance have significant clinical implications for patients with metabolic syndrome.

Training and diet is not enough for obesity.
In the US, around 35% of adults and 17% of children and adolescents are obese.Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health cite a healthy diet and exercise as a primary factor in combatting obesity. Is it really that simple? Not according to lead author Dr. Christopher Ochner, assistant professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, NY, and colleagues.In their article, the experts state that while a healthy diet and exercise may help obese individuals lose weight in the short term, around 80-95% eventually gain back that weight.
They explain that this