"Health is a high priority for most of us. In the search for good health we're faced with some great myths. When we start talking food, fat and fitness, there are many fallacies around.

Dieting can make you put on weight. True.
If the body doesn't get enough food, it goes into starvation mode. In starvation mode, the body stores everything it can as fat so it can survive. This slows the metabolism and if you start eating again your body stores that food as fat.

Walking a kilometre burns around the same number of calories as running a kilometre: True

About the same number of calories is burned running a set distance as walking that distance. So you don't necessarily need to sweat it out to lose weight — it just takes longer if you decide to walk.

You can eat as much protein and carbohydrates as you like without putting on weight: False

Eating too much fat is not the only thing that will make you put on the kilos. Excessive amounts of alcohol, protein and carbohydrates can all be broken down and converted into fat. The bottom line is: if you take in more energy than you burn up, you'll put on weight.

Exercise can turn fat into muscle: False

Muscle and fat are two completely different tissues and one can never "turn into" the other.

Eating at night makes you fat: False

Years ago it was thought the digestive system closed down during sleep and food eaten before bedtime would most likely turn to fat. That's not true — it's still okay to have a meal because your body will manage to digest just about all the food, regardless of the time you eat it".

The fact sheets on the ninemsn network of websites are provided by Nine Network Australia Pty Limited Always consult your doctor if you are suffering any medical complaint

Eating too much fat is not the only thing that will make you put on the kilos. Excessive amounts of alcohol, protein and carbohydrates can all be broken down and converted into fat. The bottom line is: if you take in more energy than you burn up, you'll put on weight.

I'm not sure that is an absolute, ratio of protein/fat/carbs is important too. I think it was shown in the 50s that you do not necessarily utilise all the energy in your food (1). Hmm, I'm sounding like a proponent of the Atkins diet, which I'm not.

Here is some interesting reading from the BMJ

Plenty of quackery out there when it comes to diet books, there is too much money involved for the snake oil salesmen to stay away.

1. Kekwick A, Pawan GLS. Calorie intake in relation to body-weight changes in the obese. Lancet 1956; ii: 155-160.

Can only agree with slim-slag.

I once read somewhere (I think it was pprune) that;

junk food + sitting on rrrs = fat knacker

Unfortunately, as I am finding out, this is true for the majority of people.

I believe in the Lager diet. I remember learning at school that a calorie was the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of a gram of liquid by 1 degree centigrade or something like that. Therefore if you drink ten pints of ice cold lager a night your body will burn so many calories that you will be as slim as a waif in no time at all. It hasn't worked for me yet......off to the pub to try again.

Airclues

Airclues,

Doesn't an extra hot chicken vindaloo always follow your ten pints of Stella?

I would love to go along with Capt Airclues on the lager diet. It does seem to make sense on face value. The "one calorie raises the temperature of 1 gram of water 1 deg celsius" part is true, however the energy content of food is measured in Calories (note the capital C) which is actually 1000 calories. Back to the drawing board!

Ausdoc