Darker days during the winter make some people reach forcertain types of snacks.But people tend to think they gain more weight during winter months than they actually do.Most people gain around one pound between September and March.As the days get shorterand the nights get colder,do you find yourself wantingmore snacks'Conventional wisdom suggests that winteris a time towatch the waistline, and researchhas shownthatlots of people do gain some weight in the cloudy winter months.But studies of hundreds of thousands of people haven't found evidence of any dramaticseasonal weight gain usually people don't put on more thanone pound.The problem is that single pound can be tough towork off,and combine with more weightover decades. Research from The National Institutes of Health suggestsAmerican adultsages 18-49 put on an average of1-2 poundsevery year.Our bodies in the winterThereis some seasonal variationin what we choose to eat. A2005 study of 593 predominantly overweight adults found that in the fall, people tend to eat more calories, total fat, and saturated fat. In the spring,folks seem to reach formore carbohydrates.Research on employees at the National Institutes of Health campus in Maryland in 2000 found that seasonal weight changes over the winter months ranged fromless than1 to2.2 pounds per person. Mostresearch subjects gained about a pound.However, theyreported believing thatthey'd packed on about four times more weight than they did, regardless of their size, gender, or race.The researchers didn'tknow exactlywhy peoplethought they put on so much more weight than theydid(but perhaps holiday parties and treats might influence that perception).While we may feel fatter in the winter than we actually are, thereare a few environmental differencesthat can lead us to munch more.Daily darkness can causeseasonal affective disorder (SAD), a wintertime depressionthatcan leave people feeling moody, glum, and low on energy until longer, brighter days return. The National Institutes of Health estimates that in New England and Alaska places where winters are long and days are short SAD affects as much as 9% of the population. (In Floridait's just 1%.)Swiss researchershave found that people suffering fromSAD tend to munch on more carbohydrates and sweets in the winter, as the days get darker.Lesspowerful sunshine coupled with a whole lot more bundled up skin also means its tougherfor people to soak invitamin D in the winter, and there may be a link between vitamin D deficiency and weight gaintoo.People who spend their whole lives in the sun foraging for food also feel the changing seasons in their gut.A recent study of Hadza hunter-gatherers in Tanzania found themicrobes in theirintestines change as their dietshifts from more meat in the dry season to more berries when it rains.The evidence against seasonal weight gainBut science suggeststhe chilly weather should also help keep us trim. Spending more time outside in the wintercan increase the amount of brown fatin the body. Unlike white fat, stored energy that pretty much just sits around like a spare tire, brown fat takes a more active role in the body, burning energy and generating heat. It keeps us warm while chewing through calories at the same time.Furthermore,winter isn't the only season we're prone to gain weight. Body weight canactually go up by several pounds in the summer, according to army researcher John Castellani, becauseas we get sweatier, our kidneys retain more fluid. Of course, people are generally more active in the spring and summer, making it easier to loseany extra pounds they put on. Winter pudge, on the other hand, doesn'tslide off as easily.No matterwhat time of year it is,the latestresearch suggests we'rewired to pay more attention to high-calorie items. So we're more distracted by the sight of a donut than a salad no matterthe season.Harvard nutrition expert Walter Willett, who wrote the book 'Eat, Drink and be Healthy,' told Business Insider that the science of why some people eat more in the winter is still unsettled. But he said he tries to limit his own snacking to fruits and vegetables like carrots and applesa wise choice sincestudy after study has shown that stocking up on calorie-rich junk food makes people more tired, stressed, prone to injury, and tempted by emotional eating than they wouldafter eatingsnacks like fruit. If you're prone to snacking but want toconsume less food, evidencesuggests a surprising strategy: Foods that arecrunchyandnoisyto eat(like Willett's carrots and apples) have been found to help peoplecontrol their urge to eat. Scientists call this the "crunch effect:" when people listen to what they'rechewing, they eat less of it, no matter whattime of year it is.SEE ALSO:There's a right way and a wrong way to snack ' here are 7 healthy tips to live byJoin the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: Scientists figured out a simple trick that makes people eat less
Click here to read full news..
