That's Fit

Contrary to what diet experts have now been telling us for over a decade, researchers from Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh reportedly found that it's not necessary to cut simple sugar (sucrose) from our diets in order to lose weight. In fact, the researchers posit that diets are more strictly adhered to when the dieter consumes small amounts of sucrose on a regular basis.

Writing in a 2007 issue of International Journal of Food Science and Nutrition, the researchers stated that the results of their study showed the greatest reduction in body weight and BMI loss resulted in dieters who included sugar in their diet. The researchers further stated that their results "contribute to the growing body of evidence that an effective way to lose weight is by adhering to a high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet and by being physically active." They also added "it also provides evidence that the exclusion of sucrose, as is normally advocated in a weight loss diet, is not necessary to achieve weight reduction."

Personally, I feel that that more investigation into these claims need to be made before I start breaking out a Tootsie Roll Pop and washing it down with a Mountain Dew. To offer my final two cents, I think that what the researchers discovered is that people who are able to indulge in sweets once and a while are more apt to adhere to their diets. This occasional indulgence (or "reward") satisfies their cravings, making it far easier to stick to their healthy food regimen the remainder of the time. However, to go as far as to basically imply that it is healthier to regularly consume sucrose seems like quite a challenge to conventional wisdom.