Weight Reduction Programs

Before you resolve to join an organized diet program, consider this: A study of nine popular plans found a high cost per pound lost and very limited evidence of long-term weight loss. And, oh yes, there's a high dropout rate within months of beginning any of these programs. If you want to achieve a more healthful weight, "the first step is to try to do this on your own," says Thomas A. Wadden, director of the Weight and Eating Disorders Program at the University of Pennsylvania.

This year, the key to a holiday season without added pounds could be a four-letter word: plan. Members of the National Weight Control Registry -- several thousand "successful losers" who have shed at least 30 pounds and kept it off for at least three years -- plan ahead to avoid the holiday temptations that could sabotage their weight maintenance efforts.

Maria CRUZ bustles around her kitchen preparing dinner, keeping one eye on a simmering pot of salsa verde and the other on her 8-year-old son, Abel. He's an energetic kid prone to bursts of song and dance -- and to occasionally sneaking food when his mother's back is turned. "Ay, junior!" cries Maria as she spies him slinking off with a just-cooked chicken leg. Any mother would be annoyed, but Cruz's concern goes deeper. At 4 feet 7, Abel weighs just under 200 pounds, making him morbidly obese.

It's no secret that exercising regularly and eating right are the keys to staying fit, but people may find better results when they're given a little help along the way. Among the more promising forms of help are two new intervention programs, one targeted to elementary school children, the other to college freshmen. Results of studies examining the programs were among the findings presented last week at a Las Vegas conference cosponsored by the North American Assn.

Young children may need more iron than they're getting. Athletes shouldn't overly restrict carbohydrates. And new fitness activities must be carefully considered. Such advice was abundant at last week's meeting of the American Dietetic Assn. in Anaheim. Here is a sampling. Healthier kids Infant and toddler nutrition isn't expected to be included in the update of the nation's dietary guidelines, so the American Dietetic Assn. has stepped in to fill the information gap.

Federal regulators said Tuesday that they had sued the marketers of CortiSlim, a widely advertised dietary supplement, alleging that they made false claims about its ability to help people swiftly shed pounds. The Federal Trade Commission lawsuit charges that Window Rock Enterprises Inc. of Brea and Infinity Advertising Inc. of Anaheim made "deceptive efficacy claims" about CortiSlim in broadcast and print ads, infomercials and on websites.

Stroll down any pharmacy aisle these days and you'll find that the low-carb craze has invaded the $20-billion dietary supplement industry. From multivitamins to starch-blocker pills, loosely regulated supplements are popping up in the burgeoning low-carb market dominated by food companies. For vitamin makers, the biggest marketing tool is exploiting the pitfall of high-protein diets, namely that you lose some nutrients when you cut back on carbohydrates.

Only months after the herb ephedra was pulled from the market, government regulators and scientists have become increasingly alarmed about a new generation of herbal weight-loss products -- specifically those containing bitter orange. Like ephedra, the stimulant is used by people seeking to lose weight.

Everyone knows the temptations that lurk at a county fair: cotton candy, corn dogs, funnel cakes and the latest artery-clogger, deep-fried Oreos. But take heart, dieters. This year's innovation isn't covered in sugar or dipped in chocolate -- it's wrapped in lettuce. That's right, the bun-less hamburger, an Atkins-inspired dish, has weaseled its way into a place where self-indulgence reigns, the Orange County Fair, which runs through Aug. 1 in Costa Mesa.