Medford/Somerville, Mass. – Smaller meals and regular exercise are the best steps to lose weight for people over 50, Tufts professor Dr. Edward Saltzman told the Today Show's Matt Lauer last week.

   "You can expend a lot of energy, you can burn a lot of calories just on a day-to-day basis by getting rid of the remote, by walking down the block to the store as opposed to taking the car," Saltzman explained. "Your body doesn't really know the difference in the calories that you burn, whether you do small bits that add up at the end of the day, or if you out and exercise all at once."

   Saltzman also suggests small changes in diet to avoid weight gain. "Our research at Tufts indicates that people who eat a wide variety of items such as sweets or snacks, tend to eat more and tend to be heavier than those who eat a wide variety of items such as vegetables," he told the Today Show audience.

   Hidden calories can lead to extra pounds too, the Tufts professor added. "Sauces, oils, dressings, especially when you're eating out, can be several hundred calories worth of fat in oil."

Online: http://www.tufts.edu/communications/printable/041700SaltzmanTalksToTodayShow