Dr. Donald A. Williamson

Dr. Don Williamson Louisiana State University

"A fairly significant number of soldiers either exceed their weight-height standards or border on exceeding it," says Donald Williamson, professor at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La., which designed the programs for the Army."This is a serious problem."

Soldiers can enter their height, weight, calorie intake and how much they exercise and design a personal weight-loss or weight-management plan.They can even get information about foods served in local restaurants."If you have a laptop, in theory you can pull up your program in Iraq," Williamson said.

Donald A. Williamson, Louisiana State University
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Donald A. Williamson

You have to take a change of attitude where you assume responsibility for your weight , says Donald Williamson , a psychologist at Louisiana State University.What people actually do to be responsible and accountable like this just differs all over the place..

Sally Dorsten did it by becoming a vegan.She eats no animal products at all , not even eggs or dairy.

It was a radical life change , she says , but she found it easy , even enjoyable.

Donald A. Williamson, Louisiana State University

asked Don Williamson, chief of health psychology at LSU's Pennington Biomedical Research Center.

Simply because people are armed with the right information doesn't mean they'll make wise decisions.Decisions are based on patterns, and breaking patterns is difficult.It is a matter of making the healthy decisions feel normal, Williamson said.

There is a well-documented obesity epidemic, and it started in the mid-1980s to mid-1990s.The change may be attributed to the environment: computers, television, urban sprawl, fast foods and larger portion sizes, Williamson said.
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Environmental changes may be adding that 10 to 20 calories a day, Williamson said.
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"It works very well," Williamson said.There is no illusion that these people are "cured" from craving cheesecake and ice cream and from preferring to ride an elevator rather than climb stairs; however, the behavior change makes the wise decisions feel normal, he said.

"The truth is that one injury, one illness, it would be easy to go back to the old ways," he said.
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Williamson, at Pennington, said given all the factors that play into weight loss from personalities, body types, emotional issues and health, it is difficult to curb the obesity epidemic.

Educating the public may help some, but there are no easy, convenient solutions.Only when people see a strong, immediate connection between wise decisions and better health will they bring about change, Williamson said.