Why We Wrote This Book
Buyers beware! There are numerous weight loss books out in the market that are based on hype and anecdotal evidence, and not necessarily on medical science. Some tend to be too technical in nature, others may be overly focused on a narrow aspect of weight management like dieting only, while others propose practices that may be deemed medically unsafe and possibly dangerous by the scientific community. And then there are those that are simply a rehashing of old material with little to no new or cutting-edge information.
We had set outs sights on writing a book that would stand out from the rest - different not just for the sake of being different. We wanted a book to not only be based on the latest scientific research, but also holistic in approach that utilizes a comprehensive range of medically proven ways to lose or maintain weight. More importantly, we wanted a book written in a simple and straightforward manner without too much technical jargon (though there will be some, but not too much!), with practical recommendations and tips that are easily applicable in real-life scenarios and situations.
How We Did Our Research
For this book, we searched through hundreds of published research studies on the topics of obesity, weight loss, and weight management. In our research work, we only sourced from credible, major medical and health-related research journals like the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the Archives of Internal Medicine, the International Journal of Obesity, and the Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, among others. We had consciously left out all studies prior to 2007. We focused only on the newest, cutting-edge studies published from early 2007 to the end of 2008. From there, we managed to narrow down to 32 selected research studies which we felt had good practical implications for lifestyle and weight management.
There are total of 30 chapters inside. This book is
organized into 2 parts: 24 chapters in Part I and six
chapters in Part II.
Part I: Diet, Physical Activity and Lifestyle Behaviors.
For the first part of the book, we present the three
major, clinically proven approaches to weight loss and
weight maintenance -- namely, lifestyle behavioral
change, diet & nutrition, and physical activity & exercise.
This part of the book comprises chapters 1 to 24.
In Part II: Putting It All Together. This second part
has six chapters; namely, chapters 25 to 30. In this
section, we found interesting research studies that
employed a combinational approach that incorporated
some or all of the three major weight management
approaches. These studies clearly show that when two
or more of the weight management approaches are
used, the effectiveness is greatly enhanced.
This section also highlighted the efficacy and
relevance of holistic group-based intervention programs
for adults as well as for children, while emphasizing the
importance of social support for long-term weight
management success. We hope that you will consider
these issues in your personal journey.