Focus on U.S. immigration and the challenges of dietary changes: Every individual immigrating to the United States faces the challenge of dietary changes, as there is a significant difference between the diets of our country and the United States. Therefore, understanding the common knowledge about dietary changes in U.S. immigrant life is essential for immigrants.
Recently, I came across a scientific study published by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, which may provide some scientific basis and guidance regarding dietary changes in the context of studying in the United States.
Scholars from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health published an academic article titled "Dietary and Lifestyle Changes and Long-term Weight Gain in Men and Women" in a highly influential medical journal, confirming the specific relationship between dietary and lifestyle changes through scientific epidemiological research results, and providing a scientific supplement and validation to the traditional view of "eating less and exercising more" to prevent long-term weight gain.
Researchers conducted a long-term follow-up study of 120,000 American men and women without chronic diseases and obesity over a period of 12 to 20 years, assessing the relationship between their dietary and lifestyle habits every four years, while adjusting for age, baseline body mass index, and lifestyle factors. This series of studies found a clear relationship between changes in the consumption of certain foods and beverages, physical activity, television watching, and sleep duration with long-term weight gain.
The research results indicate that the average American adult gains 1 pound (approximately 0.45 kilograms) per year, with an average increase of 3.35 pounds every four years, amounting to a total weight gain of 16.8 pounds over 20 years. Due to the gradual nature of weight gain and its accumulation over the years, it is relatively difficult for scientists and individuals to identify the specific causes of weight gain.
The study also showed that changes in other lifestyle habits are related to weight changes; individuals who exercise daily weigh an average of 1.76 pounds less than those who do not; regarding alcohol consumption, daily drinkers gain an average of 0.41 pounds; for smokers, those who recently quit smoking gain an average of 5.17 pounds per year, while those who have quit smoking for a long time gain an average of 0.14 pounds. Watching television for an average of one hour per day is associated with a weight gain of 0.31 pounds per year. Individuals who sleep for 6 to 8 hours experience less weight gain compared to those who sleep less than 6 hours or more than 8 hours. Therefore, students should eat less and exercise more.