---
title: "Ten small changes you can make today to prevent weight gain"
description: "Between the ages of 20 and 55, most adults gain between 0.5 and 1kg a year, which could see some people become overweight or obese over time. This weight gain isn’t usually the result of overeating large amounts of food. Instead, it’s usually caused by eating a small amount – around 100-200 extra calories – more than is needed each day."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "THE CONVERSATION"
author: "Claire Madigan and Henrietta Graham"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/claire-madigan-and-henrietta-graham/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-10-24-ten-small-changes-you-can-make-today-to-prevent-weight-gain/"
published: "2021-10-24T18:47:43"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 786
---

# Ten small changes you can make today to prevent weight gain

> Between the ages of 20 and 55, most adults gain between 0.5 and 1kg a year, which could see some people become overweight or obese over time. This weight gain isn’t usually the result of overeating large amounts of food. Instead, it’s usually caused by eating a small amount – around 100-200 extra calories – more than is needed each day.

By Claire Madigan and Henrietta Graham · Published 24 October 2021, 20:47 SAST

## Content

The good news is that [we may be able to](https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/0003-4819-119-7_Part_2-199310011-00004) prevent ourselves from gaining weight by making small changes to our diet or physical activity. [Our recent review](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/obr.13357) found that eating[100-200 calories less,](https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/89/2/477/4596677) or burning an extra[100-200 calories](https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/food-and-diet/what-should-my-daily-intake-of-calories-be/) each day, may be enough to stop ourselves from gaining weight in the long run. This is known as a “small-changes approach”, which was first proposed in 2004 by [James Hill](https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/89/2/477/4596677), an American expert on obesity, to help people [manage their weight.](https://europepmc.org/article/NBK/nbk133218)

Many small studies have investigated the use of the small-changes approach for weight management. We combined the results of these smaller studies into a larger review to get an average (and more statistically reliable) result of the effect of this approach on weight management. We looked at 19 trials – 15 of which tested a small-changes approach to prevent weight gain, and four that test this approach for weight loss.

We analysed the data of nearly 3,000 people in weight-gain prevention trials, and 372 people in weight-loss trials. Participants were aged between 18 and 60, 65% of whom were female. In those who used the small-changes approach to prevent weight gain, we found that participants gained almost 1kg less compared with those who didn’t use this approach over a period of eight to 14 months. The 1kg difference was statistically significant, meaning it was unlikely to be the result of chance.

While the small-changes approach was shown to be effective for preventing weight gain, it was not proven to be effective for weight loss.

**Preventing weight gain**

The trials we looked at used a number of different small changes to help participants prevent weight gain. Here are some of the successful techniques used in these trials:

1. **Get off the bus one stop earlier and walk the rest of the way**. You may end up walking ten to 15 minutes more and this could help you burn up to [60 calories](https://coolconversion.com/calories-burned/Calories-burned_-walking_-10_minutes). Doing this on the way home as well could mean you burn up to 120 calories.
2. **Skip the chips that come as a side.** Small portions of oven chips served alongside main meals contain [hundreds of calories](https://www.nutracheck.co.uk/calories/calories_in_vegetables/calories_in_oven_chips_thick_cut_frozen_baked) . Saying no to these – or opting for a salad or vegetables as a side instead – could help you reduce your daily calorie intake by up to 200 calories.
3. **Switch from a regular to a diet drink**. Although it might not taste the same, making this switch could reduce your calorie intake by [145 calories](https://www.healthyman.com.au/how-many-calories-in-can-of-coke/). However, recent research suggests that [switching to diet drinks](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2784545?utm_source=For_The_Media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_term=092821) may not be great for weight management – so choosing to drink water instead of your regular fizzy drink might be best.
4. **Have an Americano instead of a latte.** The milk in a regular latte can contain up to [186 calories](https://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/generic/milk-cows-fluid-whole?portionid=1136439&portionamount=300.000#:%7E:text=There%20are%20186%20calories%20in%20300%20ml%20of,beginning%20any%20weight%20loss%20effort%20or%20diet%20regimen..), so switching to an Americano could prevent weight gain.
5. **Add one less tablespoon of oil while cooking.** One tablespoon of olive oil, for example, contains slightly over [100 calories](https://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/usda/olive-oil?portionid=30460&portionamount=1.000#:%7E:text=There%20are%20119%20calories%20in%201%20tablespoon%20of,Common%20Serving%20Sizes%3A%20Star%20Extra%20Light%20Olive%20Oil), so using less can be one way of avoiding additional calories.
6. **If you have something sweet, save half of it for tomorrow.** Eating only half a KitKat, for example, could reduce your calorie intake by about 102 calories – and give you something to look forward to tomorrow.
7. **Take one or two fewer potatoes in your roast dinner**. One medium roast potato can contain as many as [200 calories](https://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/generic/white-potato-roasted?portionid=21189&portionamount=1.000), so be mindful of how many you put on your plate.
8. **Take phone meetings while walking.** You could burn an extra [100 calories](https://fatcalories.org/interesting-about-calories/30-minute-walk-how-many-calories.html) if you opted to take a 30-minute phone call on the go.
9. **Avoid sweets.** Saying no to cakes, biscuits and other sweets could help you easily cut an extra 100-200 calories from your diet – maybe more, depending on the food.
10. **Take your dog for an extra 30-minute brisk walk each day.** The dog will appreciate it, and you could burn over [150 calories](https://burned-calories.com/sport/walking-fast#:%7E:text=Then%20we%20multiply%20this%20with%200.0175%20and%20the,minutes%20of%20Walking%20%28fast%29%20you%20burn%20154%20kcal.).

The small-changes approach has many advantages for managing weight. First, small changes are easier to incorporate into everyday life over larger ones. For example, it’s easier to eat 100-200 fewer calories a day than to eat 500 fewer calories each day (basically, an entire meal). Small changes are also easier to [maintain in the long run](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33651994/), which is key to managing weight. And, if people succeed at making these small changes, it may lead them to make [bigger changes](http://happyheartfamilies.citymax.com/f/self_efficacy.pdf) in their life. **DM/ML**

[Media](https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167668/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced)

[This story was first published in*The Conversation.*](https://theconversation.com/ten-small-changes-you-can-make-today-to-prevent-weight-gain-167668)

*Claire Madigan is a senior research associate at the Centre for Lifestyle Medicine and Behaviour at Loughborough University. Henrietta Graham is a PhD researcher in Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences at Loughborough University.*