They call Christmas sweet, but for some, the holiday season can be a bitter pill. Food plays a central role during these dates, all socializing taking place at a table, with family. We tolerate excesses of alcohol, desserts and hyper-caloric dishes with festive indulgence, though afterwards we may start the new year with Spartan rigidity, signing up for the gym and putting ourselves on a diet. This duality of reward-punishment is not ideal when it comes to maintaining a healthy relationship with food, warn experts.. …… The family dynamics of our early years may resurface during the holidays. Food-related relationships are frequently inherited and taught to us by our parents. However, what happens when their eating habits are not always favorable and a big family gathering necessitates confronting behaviors and remarks regarding our physical appearance.Our relationship with food is largely shaped by our parents. According to a study presented at the most recent European Congress on Obesity, having one obese parent increases our middle-aged risk of obesity by three times, and having two obese parents increases the risk by six. This predisposition appears to have both environmental and educational components, which can be exaggerated at this time of year, and cannot be fully explained by genetic factors..Hunger, restriction, and disinhibition control our eating habits, according to Violeta Moizé, a dietitian-nutritionist at Hospital Clínic in Barcelona. And these three processes change throughout the day, throughout our lives, and even depending on the season. Numerous studies demonstrate how we often put on weight while on vacation. That occurs as a result of a break in routine. While dinners out, drinks with friends, and a sedentary lifestyle may be increasing, we abandon the Tupperware and the gym. This type of shift can occur in the summer, but it can be much more pronounced during the winter holidays, even though it is concentrated into fewer days
The weight fluctuations of 2,924 participants from three countries over a 12-month period were examined in a 2016 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The participants kept a close eye on their weight, and the pattern of weight fluctuations revealed a linear tendency that peaked around Christmas. Participants’ weight increased by 0.4% to 0.6% during this period, according to measurements. For someone who weighs 175 pounds, that is slightly more than a pound. Even though it might not seem like much, the study revealed that almost every participant maintained that weight after the holidays. It can mount up. A prior meta-analysis that was published in the scientific journal Nutrients found that the effects are more noticeable in individuals who were initially overweight..
At Christmas dinner, people can consume up to 6,000 calories, triple the recommended daily intake. That can repeat at the office holiday party, dinner with friends, Christmas Eve, and other gastronomically inclined festivities. By the end of it, we are full — and ready for a dramatic nutritional shift. After the excess comes the correction, the compensation. The punishment. In a recent survey by the Orlando Health hospital network, 39% of respondents reported being worried about how they eat during the holiday season.
Twenty-five percent of them said they would skip meals in order to reduce their caloric intake. Fast and binge.
One of the most popular New Year’s resolutions is this. More than 12% of annual inscriptions occur during the first part of January, when gyms report an increase in new members. However, only about one-fifth will stick to their exercise goals after the first few weeks of the year, according to multiple studies. Twenty-five percent of them said they would skip meals in order to reduce their caloric intake. Fast and binge.
Celebrating with family eating and drinking around the table is nothing dramatic. Nor does it seem all that bad starting the year with new goals and desires to improve. But perhaps it’s interesting to reflect on how these two acts describe our relationship with food: how what happens during the holiday season, its culture of excess and effort, that of the prize and punishment, defines something that goes beyond the parties. “We might ask ourselves why the way we celebrate centers on eating, drinking and shopping,” reflects Moizé. “But in any case, the problem isn’t Christmas — it’s the days that come after it.”
