

We conclude with a discussion of the implications of these determinations, conjecture on why so many myths and presumptions exist, and suggestions for limiting the spread of these and other unsubstantiated beliefs about obesity domain.


For each of these, we describe the belief and present evidence that the belief is widely held or stated, reasons to support the conjecture that the belief might be true, evidence to directly support or refute the belief, and findings from randomized controlled trials, if available. yo-yo dieting) snacking built environment reducing screen time in childhood obesity portion size participation in family mealtime and drinking water as a means of weight-loss. Here we present nine myths and ten presumptions surrounding the effects of rapid weight loss setting realistic goals in weight loss therapy stage of change or readiness to lose weight physical education classes breast-feeding daily self-weighing genetic contribution to obesity the “Freshman 15” food deserts regularly eating (versus skipping) breakfast eating close to bedtime eating more fruits and vegetables weight cycling (i.e. We refer to the former as “presumptions” and the latter as “myths”. Obesity is a topic on which many views are strongly held in the absence of scientific evidence to support those views, and some views are strongly held despite evidence to contradict those views.
