DILEMMA

According to the latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a hefty 69 percent of Americans 20 and older are considered overweight or obese. In that latter category, the percentage is 34.9 or 78.6 million obese American adults. Houston, we have a weight problem.

Of course, where there’s a problem, there’s always someone selling a solution. Say hello to the dieting industry. Every year, dozens of new diet plans, books and supplements promise the holy grail of losing weight. And there are plenty of customers. The research firm Marketdata Enterprises, which has tracked the weight loss industry since 1989, estimates 100 million Americans are dieting at some point during a calendar year.

69% of Americans

Those same statistics showed that the weight loss market has grown into a $60 billion industry.

But the latest Marketdata research also indicates that the weight loss market is beginning to show declines. A 2015 mass survey noted that consumers are striving to eat healthier sans any particular weight loss program. Maybe the new dieting trend this year will be not to diet.

That would be good news to Dr. Traci Mann. A professor of psychology at the University of Minnesota, Mann has studied the psychology of eating, dieting and self-control for two decades.

At UM, she founded the Health and Eating Lab. Hence the title of her 2015 book, Secrets From The Eating Lab: The Science of Weight

20 or older are considered overweight or obese.

Loss, the Myth of Willpower, and Why You Should Never Diet Again. Dr. Mann recently took time to visit with Healthy Living about what she’s learned from her research.