
{"id":13993,"date":"2013-02-07T08:45:16","date_gmt":"2013-02-07T07:45:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/?p=13993\/"},"modified":"2017-01-21T00:41:13","modified_gmt":"2017-01-21T00:41:13","slug":"weight-loss-myths-busted-by-scientists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/weight-loss-myths-busted-by-scientists\/","title":{"rendered":"Weight-loss myths busted by scientists"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Slimming guides in magazines, health-based television programs, and even the government, are all guilty of perpetuating myths about the best ways to shed weight. Understandably, many people are confused by (often contradictory) advice, and have difficulty separating scientific fact from fanciful fiction.<\/p>\n<p>University of Copenhagen researcher Arne Astrup, along with an international team of his colleagues, has gathered popular misconceptions about weight-loss, and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nejm.org\/doi\/full\/10.1056\/NEJMsa1208051\" title=\"Myths, Presumptions, and Facts about Obesity\">proceeded to debunk them<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbOutdated, observational studies infer that skipping breakfast can cause obesity, without taking into account underlying factors. We should really be paying attention to randomised double-blind studies to infer a cause-and-effect relationship\u00ab, says Arne Astrup to the University Post.<\/p>\n<h2>&#8216;Wisdom&#8217; is wrong<\/h2>\n<p>Many myths originate from a failure to understand the complexities of people&#8217;s energy balance, writes Astrup and his collaborators in the article. A commonly held belief is that a cumulative deficit of 3500 calories will result in a weight loss of 1 lb (0.45 kg). This rule only holds water, if applied over the span of a few days. Removing all the sugar from your coffee for a year will unfortunately not result in any weight change &#8211; the change needs to be more drastic and done over a smaller period of time. <\/p>\n<p>Other myths, are based on a misunderstanding of human psychology. Skipping breakfast, common wisdom dictates, results in overindulgence later in the day. Similarly, setting too ambitious of a goal, will discourage people when they fail to meet it and quit.<\/p>\n<p>Both bits of &#8216;wisdom&#8217; sound completely reasonable, and yet they are wrong: Observing dieters who do, and do not, have breakfast, shows there is no difference between them. When it comes to lofty ambitions, it turns out the loftier, the better. As far as sex is concerned, the energy expenditure is roughly 3.5 calories a minute (compared to 1.5 kcal per minute for sitting on a couch).<\/p>\n<h2>Against misinformation<\/h2>\n<p>Any message that has been repeated often enough will embed itself as truth in the public consciousness, say the researchers.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbThe Danish ministry of health promotes gradual weight loss, while the World Health Organisation suggests there is robust evidence that breast-feeding prevents obesity. Neither of those statements is based on fact\u00ab says Arne Astrup, adding:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbIf someone can lose, say, five kilograms in the span of a few weeks, there is nothing unhealthy about that. Telling people to avoid doing so is counterproductive. The health ministry shouldn&#8217;t be publishing misinformation\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>universitypost@adm.ku.dk<\/p>\n<p><em>Stay in the know about news and events happening in Copenhagen by <a href=\"http:\/\/universitypost.dk\/newsletter\" target=\"_blank\">signing up for the University Post\u2019s weekly newsletter here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The good news is that you can skip breakfast and eat snacks. The bad news is that having sex can&#8217;t replace exercise. Seven myths and six faulty presumptions about obesity and losing weight, by University of Copenhagen scientists and collaborators<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":13995,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science","expression-news_article"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Weight-loss myths busted by scientists<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/weight-loss-myths-busted-by-scientists\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Weight-loss myths busted by scientists\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The good news is that you can skip breakfast and eat snacks. The bad news is that having sex can&#039;t replace exercise. Seven myths and six faulty presumptions about obesity and losing weight, by University of Copenhagen scientists and collaborators\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/weight-loss-myths-busted-by-scientists\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"University Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uniavis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"-0001-11-30T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-01-21T00:41:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/arneastrup-pressphoto.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1706\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MIGRATED_ARTICLES FROM_OLD_SITE\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Uniavisen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Uniavisen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MIGRATED_ARTICLES FROM_OLD_SITE\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/weight-loss-myths-busted-by-scientists\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/weight-loss-myths-busted-by-scientists\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"MIGRATED_ARTICLES FROM_OLD_SITE\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b4df0b22f9be3943039e58e94c400606\"},\"headline\":\"Weight-loss myths busted by scientists\",\"datePublished\":\"-0001-11-30T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-01-21T00:41:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/weight-loss-myths-busted-by-scientists\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":428,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/weight-loss-myths-busted-by-scientists\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2013\\\/02\\\/arneastrup-pressphoto.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Science\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/weight-loss-myths-busted-by-scientists\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/weight-loss-myths-busted-by-scientists\\\/\",\"name\":\"Weight-loss myths busted by scientists\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/weight-loss-myths-busted-by-scientists\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/weight-loss-myths-busted-by-scientists\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2013\\\/02\\\/arneastrup-pressphoto.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"-0001-11-30T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-01-21T00:41:13+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b4df0b22f9be3943039e58e94c400606\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/weight-loss-myths-busted-by-scientists\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/weight-loss-myths-busted-by-scientists\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/weight-loss-myths-busted-by-scientists\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2013\\\/02\\\/arneastrup-pressphoto.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2013\\\/02\\\/arneastrup-pressphoto.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1706,\"caption\":\"Professor Arne Astrup, Head of Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports at the Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/weight-loss-myths-busted-by-scientists\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Weight-loss myths busted by scientists\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/\",\"name\":\"University Post\",\"description\":\"Independent of management\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b4df0b22f9be3943039e58e94c400606\",\"name\":\"MIGRATED_ARTICLES FROM_OLD_SITE\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b6c147fc36e92c08c95515aba962dbc89107ed33613c690182f7e243d0c0a2ab?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b6c147fc36e92c08c95515aba962dbc89107ed33613c690182f7e243d0c0a2ab?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b6c147fc36e92c08c95515aba962dbc89107ed33613c690182f7e243d0c0a2ab?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"MIGRATED_ARTICLES FROM_OLD_SITE\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/author\\\/migrated_articles\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Weight-loss myths busted by scientists","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/weight-loss-myths-busted-by-scientists\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Weight-loss myths busted by scientists","og_description":"The good news is that you can skip breakfast and eat snacks. The bad news is that having sex can't replace exercise. Seven myths and six faulty presumptions about obesity and losing weight, by University of Copenhagen scientists and collaborators","og_url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/weight-loss-myths-busted-by-scientists\/","og_site_name":"University Post","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uniavis","article_published_time":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-01-21T00:41:13+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1706,"url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/arneastrup-pressphoto.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"MIGRATED_ARTICLES FROM_OLD_SITE","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Uniavisen","twitter_site":"@Uniavisen","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"MIGRATED_ARTICLES FROM_OLD_SITE","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/weight-loss-myths-busted-by-scientists\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/weight-loss-myths-busted-by-scientists\/"},"author":{"name":"MIGRATED_ARTICLES FROM_OLD_SITE","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#\/schema\/person\/b4df0b22f9be3943039e58e94c400606"},"headline":"Weight-loss myths busted by scientists","datePublished":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2017-01-21T00:41:13+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/weight-loss-myths-busted-by-scientists\/"},"wordCount":428,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/weight-loss-myths-busted-by-scientists\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/arneastrup-pressphoto.jpg","articleSection":["Science"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/weight-loss-myths-busted-by-scientists\/","url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/weight-loss-myths-busted-by-scientists\/","name":"Weight-loss myths busted by scientists","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/weight-loss-myths-busted-by-scientists\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/weight-loss-myths-busted-by-scientists\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/arneastrup-pressphoto.jpg","datePublished":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2017-01-21T00:41:13+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#\/schema\/person\/b4df0b22f9be3943039e58e94c400606"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/weight-loss-myths-busted-by-scientists\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/weight-loss-myths-busted-by-scientists\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/weight-loss-myths-busted-by-scientists\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/arneastrup-pressphoto.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/arneastrup-pressphoto.jpg","width":2560,"height":1706,"caption":"Professor Arne Astrup, Head of Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports at the Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/weight-loss-myths-busted-by-scientists\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Weight-loss myths busted by scientists"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/","name":"University Post","description":"Independent of management","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#\/schema\/person\/b4df0b22f9be3943039e58e94c400606","name":"MIGRATED_ARTICLES FROM_OLD_SITE","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b6c147fc36e92c08c95515aba962dbc89107ed33613c690182f7e243d0c0a2ab?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b6c147fc36e92c08c95515aba962dbc89107ed33613c690182f7e243d0c0a2ab?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b6c147fc36e92c08c95515aba962dbc89107ed33613c690182f7e243d0c0a2ab?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"MIGRATED_ARTICLES FROM_OLD_SITE"},"url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/author\/migrated_articles\/"}]}},"advancedCustomFields":{"layout_group":[{"acf_fc_layout":"Headline","use_post_title":true,"headline":"","style":"default","highlighted_words":"","text_size":"medium"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Image","image":{"ID":13995,"id":13995,"title":"OPUS","filename":"arneastrup-pressphoto.jpg","filesize":579042,"url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/arneastrup-pressphoto.jpg","link":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/weight-loss-myths-busted-by-scientists\/opus\/","alt":"","author":"0","description":"Professor Arne Astrup, Head of Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports at the Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen","caption":"Professor Arne Astrup, Head of Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports at the Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen","name":"opus","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":13993,"date":"2017-01-19 08:37:33","modified":"2017-01-19 08:37:38","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":2560,"height":1706,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/arneastrup-pressphoto-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/arneastrup-pressphoto-480x320.jpg","medium-width":480,"medium-height":320,"medium_large":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/arneastrup-pressphoto-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/arneastrup-pressphoto-1280x853.jpg","large-width":1280,"large-height":853,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/arneastrup-pressphoto.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/arneastrup-pressphoto.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1365,"featured-soft":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/arneastrup-pressphoto-290x193.jpg","featured-soft-width":290,"featured-soft-height":193,"featured-hard":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/arneastrup-pressphoto-290x180.jpg","featured-hard-width":290,"featured-hard-height":180,"narrow":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/arneastrup-pressphoto-700x467.jpg","narrow-width":700,"narrow-height":467,"extended":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/arneastrup-pressphoto-990x660.jpg","extended-width":990,"extended-height":660}},"style":"screen","text_placement":"metadata-below","image_link_url":"","image_link_title":"","caption_prefix":"","enable_alternative_caption":false,"alternative_caption":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"Standfirst","subject":"","text":"The good news is that you can skip breakfast and eat snacks. The bad news is that having sex can't replace exercise. Seven myths and six faulty presumptions about obesity and losing weight, by University of Copenhagen scientists and collaborators","use_post_excerpt":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"Byline","is_author":false,"contributors":[{"use_registered_user":false,"user":false,"contributor_name":"by","contributor_title":"&nbsp;","contributor_image":false}]},{"acf_fc_layout":"Content","content":"<p>Slimming guides in magazines, health-based television programs, and even the government, are all guilty of perpetuating myths about the best ways to shed weight. Understandably, many people are confused by (often contradictory) advice, and have difficulty separating scientific fact from fanciful fiction.<\/p>\n<p>University of Copenhagen researcher Arne Astrup, along with an international team of his colleagues, has gathered popular misconceptions about weight-loss, and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nejm.org\/doi\/full\/10.1056\/NEJMsa1208051\" title=\"Myths, Presumptions, and Facts about Obesity\">proceeded to debunk them<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbOutdated, observational studies infer that skipping breakfast can cause obesity, without taking into account underlying factors. We should really be paying attention to randomised double-blind studies to infer a cause-and-effect relationship\u00ab, says Arne Astrup to the University Post.<\/p>\n<h2>&#8216;Wisdom&#8217; is wrong<\/h2>\n<p>Many myths originate from a failure to understand the complexities of people&#8217;s energy balance, writes Astrup and his collaborators in the article. A commonly held belief is that a cumulative deficit of 3500 calories will result in a weight loss of 1 lb (0.45 kg). This rule only holds water, if applied over the span of a few days. Removing all the sugar from your coffee for a year will unfortunately not result in any weight change &#8211; the change needs to be more drastic and done over a smaller period of time. <\/p>\n<p>Other myths, are based on a misunderstanding of human psychology. Skipping breakfast, common wisdom dictates, results in overindulgence later in the day. Similarly, setting too ambitious of a goal, will discourage people when they fail to meet it and quit.<\/p>\n<p>Both bits of &#8216;wisdom&#8217; sound completely reasonable, and yet they are wrong: Observing dieters who do, and do not, have breakfast, shows there is no difference between them. When it comes to lofty ambitions, it turns out the loftier, the better. As far as sex is concerned, the energy expenditure is roughly 3.5 calories a minute (compared to 1.5 kcal per minute for sitting on a couch).<\/p>\n<h2>Against misinformation<\/h2>\n<p>Any message that has been repeated often enough will embed itself as truth in the public consciousness, say the researchers.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbThe Danish ministry of health promotes gradual weight loss, while the World Health Organisation suggests there is robust evidence that breast-feeding prevents obesity. Neither of those statements is based on fact\u00ab says Arne Astrup, adding:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbIf someone can lose, say, five kilograms in the span of a few weeks, there is nothing unhealthy about that. Telling people to avoid doing so is counterproductive. The health ministry shouldn&#8217;t be publishing misinformation\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>universitypost@adm.ku.dk<\/p>\n<p><em>Stay in the know about news and events happening in Copenhagen by <a href=\"http:\/\/universitypost.dk\/newsletter\" target=\"_blank\">signing up for the University Post\u2019s weekly newsletter here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"ArticleEnd"},{"acf_fc_layout":"OtherStories","headline":"","hand_picked_posts":false,"references":false,"category":false,"theme":false,"number_of_posts":"4","style":"default"}]},"taxonomyData":{"category":[{"term_id":46,"name":"Science","slug":"science","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":46,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":831,"filter":"raw"}],"post_tag":[],"post_format":[],"expression":[{"term_id":15,"name":"News Article","slug":"news_article","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":15,"taxonomy":"expression","description":"","parent":0,"count":11488,"filter":"raw"}],"translation_priority":[]},"featured_media_url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/arneastrup-pressphoto-1280x853.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13993"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13993\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34972,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13993\/revisions\/34972"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13995"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}