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Americans are facing the upcoming holidays fatter than ever: two studies conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and recently published in The Journal of the American Medical Association reveal that a large number of Americans packed on extra pounds during the late 1990s. About 23 percent of adults older than 20 were classified as significantly overweight in l994, but that figure has now surged to nearly 31 percent. According to the CDC researchers, about 59 million Americans currently have a body mass index (a mathematical formula used to figure out body weight to account for a person's height) of 30 or more, classifying them as obese.

How is this even possible after the billions of dollars spent on exercise gizmos, diets and weight-loss books? Part of the answer could be right in front of you-piled high on your plate (after plate after plate) of holiday goodies. "We've found the 10 pounds most adults seem to put on each decade may have a strong holiday connection," says Jack A. Yanovski, M.D., Ph.D., who heads the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Unit on Growth and Obesity. Yanovski and colleagues reached that conclusion by studying holiday weight gain in 195 men and women at six-week intervals before, during and after the winter holiday season. They found that most people gain about a pound over the holidays and, Yanovski adds, "people don't lose it. It adds up year after year."

University of Minnesota researchers studying weight gains and losses in 823 people over a three-year period also concluded that those gaining weight rapidly over a short span of time are unlikely to lose it. These findings, recently published in the International Journal of Obesity, could help explain Americans' increasing obesity as well, according to study author Robert W. Jeffery, Ph.D., a University of Minnesota School of Public Health epidemiologist.

Young at Heart
There are plenty of other reasons to control holiday weight gain as well. The proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences recently reported that caloric restriction retards aging in the heart. And research by Italian scientist Carlo Patrono, just published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, says overweight, apple-shaped women (think "Mrs. Claus") are more likely to have increased blood clotting-boosting heart attack and stroke risk.

Thankfully, you don't have to live in a cave until after New Year's to avoid holiday weight gain. According to cardiologist Neil F. Gordon, M.D., Ph.D, medical director of the Center for Heart Disease Prevention at St. Joseph's/Candler Health System in Savannah, Ga., and president of INTERxVENTUSA, a health-risk reduction program associated with Emory Heart Center in Atlanta, the best strategy is to come up with a plan in advance of holiday parties. Gordon, who has studied the behaviors of people who successfully lose and maintain healthy weights, says that straightforward self-deprivation won't work. Instead, he advises tasting everything but focusing on smaller portions. "And eat something healthy, like an apple, before you go to the party. You'll be less likely to overeat. Drinking adequate amounts of water will help you feel full, too. And make the decision to drink less alcohol, which tends to make us less able to control what we want to do."

Gordon, chairman of the American Heart Association's Committee on Exercise, Cardiac Rehabilitation and Prevention, says holiday fat fighting should include additional physical activity: "Take a break from parties and walk around the block with a friend, park farther away from the mall door. It all adds up and boosts metabolism."

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