Overweight(體重超標)或obesity(肥胖)會影響健康，政府近年積極提醒市民overweight和obesity的害處，大家對控制體重就更着意。
衞生署衞生防護中心的“健康資訊”警告：”Obesity increases the risk for a number of chronic diseases, such as hypertension(高血壓), heart diseases, hypercholesterolaemia(高膽固醇), diabetes mellitus(糖尿病), cerebrovascular disease(腦血管病), gall bladder disease(膽囊病), osteoarthritis(骨關節炎), sleep apnoea(睡眠窒息) and some types of cancer.”
但大家對減磅(weight loss)的方法卻有些普遍的誤解。減磅不得其法，會事倍功半，或沒有功效，甚至適得其反。
Marilisa Racco最近在Global News報道：”For some people, weight loss can feel like an elusive goal. Weeks and even months of lifestyle changes and regular workouts may not yield the results they want. But nutrition experts say a lot of that comes down to weight-loss myths(錯誤觀念) that continue to persist.”
Elusive是形容詞，解difficult to find, catch or achieve，難以找到、抓住，難以獲得、實現或達成的。很多人都覺得減磅是個elusive的目標。多個星期或多個月改變生活習慣、努力做體操，但卻得不到想要的結果。營養專家就指出，問題是出在一些減體重的誤解繼續存在。
卡路里迷思
減肥不外乎是飲食、運動或心態，而這些誤解與這幾方面有關。首先，是以為︰”All calories are created equal”(所有卡路里都是一樣的)。”There’s no question that the amount of calories you consume(進食、吸取) in a day matter, but where you get your calories from makes a big difference.”
營養師解釋：”Foods that are high in protein and fibre(纖維) make you feel full longer, which means if you have 500 calories of nuts versus 500 calories of pop, it’ll mean the difference between satisfying your hunger and looking to consume more food later on.” 一杯汽水和一杯堅果同是五百卡路里，但堅果飽肚，汽水喝完一會就會肚餓，即是說你需要吃東西，前後加起來攝取的卡路里就高很多。
另一個myth是︰”You need to exercise more to lose weight”(減肥需運動)。專家說，運動當然有益健康：
First and foremost(首要的、比什么都重要), exercising is good for your heart, bone density(骨質密度) and strength … but the average person does not exercise at the intensity(強烈程度) they’d need to burn a significant(有意義的) amount of calories.
另外，很多人都說︰”You can’t lose weight without willpower”(意志力不足，減肥註定失敗)。要改變生活和飲食習慣，有willpower當然有幫助，但”unfortunately, this kind of thinking sets you up for failure right away”(不幸地，這種想法容易令人失敗)。因為你每天都要吃多餐，若每餐都要靠意志來壓制食欲，你捱不了多久。
The reality is, weight comes down to a variety of factors, including biology(生理) and genetics(遺傳), which cannot be countered by willpower alone.
Body weight planner (https://www.niddk.nih.gov/bwp)是個計划控制體重的小工具，要有效控制體重，須了解箇中原理，可參考Traci Mann的Secrets from the Eating Lab: The Science of Weight Loss, the Myth of Willpower, and Why You Should Never Diet Again。
