What could this miracle product be?
Water.
You know, the stuff that can be drunk for free or nearly free everywhere you turn?
The Economist reports on the findings of a team of Virginia Tech researchers who divided 48 “inactive Americans” ages 55 to 75 (must have been really hard to find such people) into two groups:
Members of one were told to drink half a litre of water (a bit more than an American pint) shortly before each of three daily meals. The others were given no instructions on what to drink. Before the trial, all participants had been consuming between 1,800 and 2,200 calories a day. When it began, the women’s daily rations were slashed to 1,200 calories, while the men were allowed 1,500. After three months the group that drank water before meals had lost about 7kg (15½lb) each, while those in the thirsty group lost only 5kg.
The takeaway: Cut calories and you’ll lose weight. Cut calories and drink lots of water and you’ll lose even more weight, and, most interesting of all, you’re more likely to keep it off.
After the study ended, participants were told they could eat and drink whatever they wanted. Turns out the water drinkers stuck with the H2O habit even when they weren’t forced to, and they continued to lose weight, whereas members of the other group tended to gain back all the weight they lost during the project.