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'Flat Belly Diet' Might Include Puffery

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 10, 2009

We're a culture obsessed with buff midsections, so it's no surprise there are plenty of diets targeting a flat belly.

Besides, more so than other types of body fat, belly fat has been linked to heart disease, diabetes and other chronic diseases. Losing weight around the middle has more benefits than simply fitting into skinny jeans or looking good in a bikini.

For example, the "Flat Belly Diet," (Rodale, $24.95) focuses on foods rich in mono-unsaturated fats, such as olive oil, peanut butter and chocolate. The authors say research links MUFAs to weight loss and the prevention of "central body fat distribution."

But experts say this 1,600-calories-a-day diet nearly guarantees weight loss. Its benefit to the belly or to the rest of the body is up to debate.

Rita Anderson, a Connecticut nutritionist, says it's positive that this kind of diet brings attention to the healthfulness of MUFAs.

However, Anderson thinks it is important to emphasize that "eating MUFAs and not exercising or exercising very minimally" will not eliminate weight problems. She said exercising is key to keeping weight off. She also objects to the idea that a particular diet can target belly fat.

"Weight loss occurs all over your body," she says

And she is concerned that the book promotes one diet for all its readers, not taking into account readers' weights or food preferences.

Jeff Volek, an associate professor of kinesiology and a registered dietitian at the University of Connecticut, says the most important issue in the diet may be its moderating of carbohydrate intake, or, in other words, replacing carbohydrates with MUFAs.

"There's certainly nothing magical about MUFAs that would target the stomach," he says. "But having said that, the ideas and concepts promoted in the book seem to be a generally a pretty healthy strategy to follow."

The Hartford Courant

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