Don’t Let the Recession Make You Gain Weight

(ARA) - With the bad economy, comfort food and fast-food sales are soaring. Two-thirds of American adults are medically overweight or obese, and the incidence of medically significant obesity is rising rapidly, especially in children and teenagers.

The good news is that emotional (non-hunger) eating can be controlled with a little effort. Dr. Leonard Mastbaum and Dr. Jamy Ard, medical advisors with OPTIFAST, a medically monitored weight loss program that focuses on changing patients' lifestyles and how they interact with food, suggest the following steps:

* Take note of when you're eating, but aren't actually hungry.

* Learn what triggers emotional eating for you.

* Make a list of non-eating activities that you enjoy, to help alleviate your emotional eating triggers.

* Recognize when you're lapsing and eating on a non-hunger basis. Try to learn what triggers your own inappropriate eating.

* Get to the root of your feelings and take action to change them.

For more information on OPTIFAST or to find a clinic near you, log on to http://www.optifast.com/.



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