The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point
  • About this web log

    This blog ran from 2006 to 2016 and was intended as an objective and dispassionate source of information on the latest CAM research. Since my background is in pharmacy and allopathic medicine, I view all CAM as advancing through the development pipeline to eventually become integrated into mainstream medical practice. Some will succeed while others fail. But all are treated fairly here.

  • About the author

    John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.

  • Common sense considerations

    The material on this weblog is for informational purposes. It is not medical advice or counsel. Be smart, consult your health professional before using CAM.

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  • Recent Comments

    Portion size is the answer for losing weight

    Researchers at Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York, tested the hypothesis that the mechanism responsible for reduced intake was not the dietary composition of the meal replacement, but the controlled portion sized meals.

    First, the details.

    • 17 volunteers ate all of their meals and snacks from foods provided by the research unit from Monday to Friday for 5 consecutive weeks.
    • Week 1: all participants selected their food from a buffet where each food was weighed before and after eating.
    • Weeks 2 and 3: half of the group selected their lunch by choosing one food from a selection of 6 commercially available portion controlled foods.
      • They could eat as much as they wished at other meals or snacks.
    • Weeks 4 and 5: the conditions were reversed for the 2 groups.

    And, the results.

    • Consuming the portion controlled lunches resulted in about a 250 kcal reduction in energy intake.
    • The volunteers didn’t make up for the lower calorie intake at other meal and snack times on the days they ate portion-controlled lunches.
    • There was a significant loss of body weight (1.1 pounds per person in 2 weeks).

    The bottom line?

    The authors concluded, “The results suggest that the mere substitution of one smaller portioned meal each day is sufficient to cause reduction in daily energy intake and a significant amount of weight.”

    Now that’s news you can use.

    10/2/11 18:24 JR

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