The Twinkie Diet: the rest of the story

November 8, 2010- Some media outlets have been reporting on the so-called “Twinkie Diet” of a Kansas State University professor that caused him to lose 27 pounds in 2 months. The results, which were released today, are touted with headlines like “Nutrition professor loses 27 pounds on Twinkies diet” in USA Today or “Twinkie diet helps nutrition professor lose 27 pounds” from CNN.

According to Mark Haub, a professor of human nutrition at KSU, he ate a “convenience store diet” consisting mainly of Hostess and Little Debbie snack cakes, Doritos, Oreos and other junk food normally found in a convenience store for a period of two months. He limited himself to 1,800 calories a day and he saw his weight drop 27 pounds and his body mass index (BMI) drop from 28.8 (which is considered overweight) to 24.9 (in the normal range). He also says his bad cholesterol dropped 20% and his good cholesterol increased 20%. In short, Haub was trying to prove that weight loss is about the number of calories consumed and not about what kind of food it is.

Before you jump in the car to jet off to stock up on Ho-Ho’s and doughnuts, read the rest of the article.

The part that gets buried deeper in the articles is that Haub supplemented his snack food diet with a multi-vitamin, vegetables (canned green beans were a favorite) and a protein shake each day. One third of his intake was non-junk food.

Dawn Blatner, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, has been widely quoted in response to the study. When asked about Haub’s improvements in cholesterol, Blatner said “When you lose weight, regardless of how you're doing it -- even if it's with packaged foods, generally you will see these markers improve when weight loss has improved."

The whole buzz about this “Twinkie Diet” is missing the most important point: Skinny doesn’t equal healthy. It just means you weigh less. Haub consumed 1,800 calories a day, which is significantly less than the average 2,600 calories consumed by a man of his pre-diet size. Seeing a weight loss after reducing your caloric intake by nearly a third isn’t exactly a surprise.

There is also a tipping point that the study never got to. The body adapts to your food intake. At some point, that same 1,800 calorie a day intake would likely cause Haub to start gaining weight.

Losing weight is a common goal and usually, it’s a good idea. But losing weight should just be one part of a bigger goal of better health. Watching calories is good, coupling it with exercise is even better. Eating empty calories does little to give your body the proper fuel for a good exercise program and doesn’t help you grow stronger bones and quality muscle.

Likewise, the study is too short in duration and too small in size to even begin to address the long-term effects of this kind of diet. Haub himself does not recommend the diet, but again that part usually gets buried in the story.

Don’t forget that other studies have shown that junk food can be as addicting as heroin. When asked for his take on this study, Lee County resident Dennis Hawkins rolled his eyes. “People are going to jump on this as a justification for their own bad habits.”

Be smart. A cheeseburger or pizza once in a while isn’t going to kill you. Even professional bodybuilders plan “cheat days” that allow for stuff their strict diets don’t normally allow. Portion size and frequency are more important factors. Then, couple your smart eating habits with a balanced exercise program. You’ll see all the improvements Haub saw, but you’ll be healthier for it.

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