I recently came across an article called,
Junk Food Diet Raises Questions, by Joanne Franco which discussed a Kansas State University Professor and his experiment with a decrease in caloric intake. Professor Mark Haub lowers his daily intake from 3,000 calories to 1,800 calories and lost 27 pounds. The interesting aspect of the experiment was that Haub ate nothing but junk food that was available in a vending machine. He did not exercise at all during the two month period and he did take certain vitamins in order to receive all of the necessary nutrients. Therefore, Haub met all of his dietary needs, ate tasty junk food, and lost a significant amount of weight!! With all of the recent concerns surrounding rising obesity rates, this serves as an intriguing method to lose weight. Of course, it could just be that Haub was able to lose the weight due to unique, genetically-based reasons, so this must studied extensively in a lab before suggesting this as a weight-loss strategy. Furthermore, a weight-loss strategy centered around lowering your caloric intake will inevitably lead to an increase in the number of eating disorders, so caution must be used before following in Professor Haub's footsteps.
This article struck me as fascinating, particularly because we have spoken so much about rising obesity rates and potential solutions to this dilemma in class over the past few weeks. I have always believed that caloric intake was more important to weight loss/gain than the quality of the diet, but it was surprising that Haub was able to lose so much weight on such an unhealthy diet. This underscores the importance of caloric intake in weight change and has led me to think that the most effective diet would consist of a mix between healthier foods and a significant decrease in caloric intake. However, I do not think this diet should be implemented until further research is performed, as it could have several negative side-effects, both physiologically and psychologically.
Do you think this experiment applies to the general population or the results primarily occurred because of Professor Haub's biological predisposition to weight loss?
I think it is important to distinguish between weight loss and general health. Yes, weight loss is good if you have excess weight, but, just because you are at a 'normal' weight does not mean you are healthy. The equation for weight loss is simply calories in (consumed) must be less than calories out (expended). It can be attained by eating 'healthy' or 'unhealthy' foods. In the long term though, what is more important is the health of the individual and that was not discussed in this study. In twenty years, if he continues on this consumption path, he will most likely face issues related to incomplete nutrition and have problems with blood pressure, cholesterol, etc. Don't forget, you can be fit and fat or skinny and unhealthy. Therefore, I would not recommend this to the population at large.
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