RW - foRWard Health & Wellbeing eMag - Oct 25 - Flipbook - Page 29
Holiday Eating Patterns
and Weight Gain
Research consistently
shows that weight gain
during the holiday season
is common. Adults tend
to gain between 0.5–1.0
kg over the Christmas
and New Year period, and
unfortunately, this extra
weight o昀琀en remains long
a昀琀er the celebra琀椀ons have
ended. While this amount
may seem small, repeated
yearly increases can
contribute signi昀椀cantly to
long-term weight gain.
The Winter Weight Watch
trial demonstrated that
educa琀椀on and small
behaviour changes, such
as monitoring weight and
making inten琀椀onal food
choices, could successfully
prevent the typical holiday
weight increase. This
suggests that awareness
and prepara琀椀on are key
tools for managing food
intake during a season
when indulgence is socially
encouraged.
Visual and
Environmental Triggers
Our ea琀椀ng environment plays
a major role in how much we
consume, o昀琀en without us
realising. Studies show that
larger plates and serving spoons
lead to greater intake, while
endless bu昀昀et op琀椀ons and
colourful desserts naturally
tempt us to eat more than we
intend. On the other hand,
making vegetables more visible
and choosing smaller plates can
encourage modera琀椀on without
feeling restric琀椀ve.
Simple adjustments, such as
placing fresh fruit at the centre
of a table or star琀椀ng meals with
a colourful salad, can nudge us
toward healthier choices. These
strategies are par琀椀cularly useful
at holiday gatherings, where the
sheer abundance of food can
make por琀椀on control di昀케cult.
