Holiday Parties Need Not Pack on Pounds

EPISODE #13
Uploaded:  December 22, 2008
Running Time:  3:45

SCHMALFELDT: From the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, this is CLINICAL CENTER RADIO.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, as folks get together to celebrate the holidays and to welcome the New Year.  It’s also the most stressful time of the year – where your waistline is concerned.

SEBRING: We actually did a study here about 10 years ago and we followed 200 employees over the course of a year.  And we found out that the average person gains about a pound a year.  But, probably half of that weight is over the six weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  So it’s not that “seven to eight pounds” that’s out there in the public press that people might gain.  But if you think about that, that is 10 pounds over a decade.  So that’s a concern.

SCHMALFELDT: That was Nancy Sebring, a Commander in the U.S. Public Health Service and Clinical Research Dietitian Specialist with the NIH Clinical Center.  So, is it the obvious reason?  We eat more during the holidays and that’s why we pack on the weight at a higher rate?

SEBRING: And I think at this time of year, it’s just a lot of social eating.  We’re going to a lot of parties and cocktail parties and pot lucks at work and things like that.  It’s kind of a combination of that and being too busy to be maybe as physically active as we’d like to be, so we cut back on the physical activity.  Maybe more alcohol this time of year.  So, all these things add up together.

SCHMALFELDT: Sebring said that with some prior planning and a thoughtful approach to holiday parties, one can avoid that sudden, depressing shock when hopping on the bathroom scale in early January.  One idea?  Don’t go to a party on an empty stomach.

SEBRING: It’s a good idea to have a small snack maybe an hour before you go and to plan ahead, knowing what’s going to be served so in your mind you can kind of figure out what you’re going to be eating.  I always tell people to survey the whole buffet, if it’s a buffet.  Look at what’s available and think about what you’re going to have before you start going through the line.  Raw vegetables with a little bit of dip, fresh fruits are always good choices.  The desserts are usually the higher-calorie, richer kind of things, so go easy on those.  It’s often a good idea to just walk around with something in a napkin.  If you pick up any hors d’oeuvre and carry it around, people will not ask you if you want more.  So I always tell people pick up something you don’t like and carry it around.

SCHMALFELDT: And if you are the one throwing the party, have you thought about other ways to celebrate the season that don’t involve people stuffing their faces?

SEBRING: Does it have to be around a full meal, or could it be just snacks or a small meal?  It’s a good idea to plan a function around other activities.  It could be you’re going out caroling or you’re making gingerbread houses or making ornaments instead of, necessarily, making cookies for example.  You want to make sure that you’re planning foods that would be lower in calories that other people coming to your party probably would appreciate.

SCHMALFELDT:  Whether you are the host or a guest at a holiday gathering, try to remember the idea is to socialize with friends and family members you might not have seen in awhile, and not to see who can fit the most cheese cubes and buffalo wings on his plate.  Have a great holiday! 

And for more information about clinical research going on every day at the NIH Clinical Center, log on to http://clinicalcenter.nih.gov. From America’s Clinical Research Hospital, this has been CLINICAL CENTER RADIO.  In Bethesda, Maryland, I’m Bill Schmalfeldt at the National Institutes of Health, an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

Back to Clinical Center Radio