The Coffee-Only Break?

Native News Network Staff in Native Health. Discussion »

Prairie Band Potawatomi
Nation Elder Center

BETHESDA, MARYLAND - If you feel you over ate during the last month at the tribal holiday celebration and you're now on a diet, you may want to watch what you eat on your mid-morning coffee break.

For dieters, a snack with the mid-morning coffee can be trouble.

At the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Anne McTiernan looked at data on 123 overweight to obese women, ages 50 to 70, who were dieting. Mid-morning snackers lost about seven percent of their weight, but nonsnackers lost about 11 percent. Dr. McTiernan says it pays to watch what you eat - and when - and maybe drink something instead of eating.

"The best beverages are things that don't have sugar in them - things like water, or tea, or coffee. But be careful with the coffee - that you're not loading it up with a lot of things like syrups or whipped cream."

So much for the venti caramel macchiato.

The study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

posted January 7, 2011 6:50 am est