Why Do We Blame Winter for Holiday Weight Gain?

Do we really eat more in winter, and is that why we gain weight? Almost everyone believes so. But when scientists counted calories and put people on scales, the numbers were smaller than the feeling. This video follows the studies, from food diaries in Massachusetts and Rotterdam to a US study of 195 adults and smart scales in three countries. It shows how big holiday weight gain really is, where the evidence is messy, and why the odd season out might be summer, not winter. CHAPTERS 0:00 Do we really eat more in winter? 1:09 Why winter eating feels bigger 2:24 What the food diaries say 4:58 What the scale says 7:38 Does cold make us hungrier? 9:34 So what is the answer? 11:27 Why do we change the clocks? A NOTE ON THE NUMBERS The figures for the 2000 NIH study (195 adults, about 1 pound on average, about 0.8 pound between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day, 1.4 pounds heavier one year later among those who came back) come from the NIH press release. The video's key numbers are taken from there, not from the full text of the original paper. The 2016 smart scale study (almost 3,000 adults in the US, Germany and Japan) is a short research letter. Summaries disagree on whether people keep part of the extra weight: Harvard Health says about half, an NPR report says people ended roughly where they started. The video says the studies do not fully agree. The large differences from Spain and Turkey come from single studies based on self-reported food intake. Their sample sizes were not checked. The comparison of 45 calories with "one small cookie" is an everyday comparison, not a measured value. SOURCES Fujihira et al. (2023), "Factors explaining seasonal variation in energy intake", Frontiers in Nutrition (review; covers the Massachusetts, Rotterdam, Finland, Spain, Turkey, 44,000-person and temperature studies). https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles... Yanovski et al. (2000), "A prospective study of holiday weight gain", New England Journal of Medicine; NIH press release "Holiday Weight Gain Slight, But May Last a Lifetime". https://www.nichd.nih.gov/newsroom/re... Helander et al. (2016), "Weight Gain over the Holidays in Three Countries", New England Journal of Medicine. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27653... Harvard Health, "Holiday weight gain is a worldwide phenomenon, study suggests". https://www.health.harvard.edu/nutrit... MPR News / NPR (22 Sep 2016), coverage of the three-country study. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2016/09... This video is for general interest and is not medical or nutrition advice. What's the one food that says "winter" to you? Tell me in the comments. 👇 Subscribe to WhyTologie to discover the WHY behind everything!    / @whytologie   🌍 Fascinating stories. Unexpected answers. Questions you never thought to ask. #holidayweightgain #science #whyexplained