 It's
easy. It's simple. And it tastes good. Eat light yogurt daily as part
of your weight loss plan, and you could lose an average of 14 pounds in
just 12 weeks.
That's the
word from researchers at the University of Tennessee who have found
that people who included Yoplait Light as part of their weight loss
plan lost significantly more weight compared to others who simply
reduced the number of calories.
Specifically, this is what the
yogurt eaters lost during the 12-week study:
- 22 percent more weight for an
average weight loss of 14 pounds.
- 66 percent more body fat.
- 81 percent more trunkal (or
stomach) fat.
How does yogurt
do this? It appears to fuel the body's fat-burning ability, which
in turn makes it easier to lose fat and maintain lean muscle.
The study:
Led by Michael Zemel, a professor of nutrition, the research team
studied the impact of adding yogurt to a reduced-calorie diet among 34
healthy, but obese, adults. They were randomly assigned to one of two
diet groups. The first group consumed about 1,100 mg of calcium each
day, including three servings of Yoplait Light yogurt, while the other
group ate a low-calcium diet with only one serving of dairy a day. The
second group is a reflection of the typical American diet, which is low
in calcium. Participants were given individualized diet plans that were
about 500 less calories fewer than they typically ate. Weekly
measurements of body weight and blood pressure were taken.
The results: "Not
only did yogurt help the study participants lose more weight--the
average weight loss was 14 pounds--they were about twice as effective
at maintaining lean muscle mass," Zemel said in a news release
announcing the findings. "This is a critical issue when dieting. You
want to lose fat, not muscle. Muscle helps burn calories, but it is
often compromised during weight loss." The calcium helped the dieters
lose more than an inch around their waist.
More important, they
lost weight were it counts the most--in their tummies. Stomach fat is
the most dangerous kind of fat, creating a higher risk for heart
disease, diabetes, stroke, and some types of cancer.
"The moral
of the calcium story is to not dump dairy when you're dieting," Zemel
explained in the news release. "Not only is it critical to keep your
calcium levels high so you won't lose bone density, but also it will
help you maintain your muscle mass and increase your fat loss. A diet
rich in low-fat dairy foods, like yogurt, can help make your weight
loss efforts easier."
How much dairy should you eat each day? Zemel recommends three
servings of fat-free and low-fat foods.
The study findings were published in the International Journal of
Obesity.
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