Insights \ Health Hits

Potato chips, sugary sodas and red meat, check. Smoking, alcohol consumption and television, check. Weight gain, double check!

A new study links consumption of some familiar foods and certain lifestyle habits with weight gain. When researchers looked at previous studies that tracked participants over many years, they found potatoes, potato chips, sugary drinks, red meat and processed meats were associated with weight increases.

The study also linked drinking, smoking, television watching and sleeping more or less than six to eight hours a day to weight increases.

Researchers combined results of three previous studies of more than 120,000 U.S. men and women who were free of chronic disease and not obese when the studies began. At four-year intervals participants had gained an average of 3.35 pounds.

When researchers looked at individuals diet changes, weight gain was most strongly associated with increased daily servings of potato chips, potatoes, sugar-sweetened beverages, red meat and processed meats. Diets that included vegetables, whole grains, fruits, nuts and yogurt were not associated with weight gain.

The meta-analyis has limitations. The previous studies, for example, relied on patient recollection of diet and lifestyle habits.

The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and is in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.