Study shows food diaries beneficial to weight loss

Jet, August 18, 2008 by Marti Parham

Dieters who keep track of what they eat and drink daily are more likely to lose weight, according to a recent study.

Over the course of six months, a study involving 1,685 middle-aged men and women found that those who kept a food diary were twice as likely to drop pounds than those who did not, Reuters reports.

"[The diary] helps the participants see where the extra calories ate coming from, and then develop more specific plans to deal with those situations," says Victor Stevens, who helped lead the study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Participants who averaged around the age of 55 were also asked to eat less fat, more vegetables, fruit and whole grains, exercise 180 minutes a week and attend group meetings.

Blacks made up 44 percent of those in the study.

Researchers noted that Blacks have a higher risk than Whites for conditions linked to obesity including type 2 diabetes and heart disease.