Holiday seasons are usually filled with joy, laughter, and people enjoying each other's company. Another thing holiday seasons are known for, however, is eating. Every year, many Americans make resolutions on New Year's Eve to join a gym and lose weight-especially the weight they gained during the Christmas season just before.

A study done in the United States confirmed that people gain weight during the holiday season more than at other times of the year. However, they do not gain as much as they think. The study measured people's weight during the American holiday season, which lasts from the week of Thanksgiving to New Year's. The study showed an average weight gain of .37 kilograms, much lower than the predicted amount of 2.3 kilograms.

Some studies say many adults gain weight during the holiday season because they like to eat tasty foods, and they are more likely to do so during the holidays. Nevertheless, there is no reason to let your holiday joy turn into your New Year's regret.

When faced with a threat, our common responses are to fight, or take flight. However, when we are faced with an overwhelming variety of food, our response seems to be to eat all we can.

Experts say that when people are faced with an all-you- can-eat buffet, they eat more because they think they are getting more for their money. They often forget they are paying the same amount whether they eat just what they need, or everything they want. In fact, behavior like this puts people on the same level as laboratory mice. When mice are faced with many different foods to choose from, they too cannot help but overeat.

What can you do to control yourself, especially during the holiday season? First, when you are looking over a table filled with food, choose just what you need to make a balanced meal. Also, take your time when making your choices. This is better than immediately grabbing everything that catches your eye.

節假日通常充滿了喜悅、歡笑和人們享受彼此相伴的愉快。不過，假日里的另一個眾所周知的現象就是"吃"。每年許多美國人都在新年前夕下定決心去健身房減肥-尤其要減掉他們在不久前圣誕假期中增加的體重。

美國的一項研究證實人們在假日期間增加的體重比在一年中的其它時候多。然而，他們實際增加的體重并沒有自己想象中的多。這項研究測量了美國節假期間人們的體重，即從感恩節的那個星期到新年這段時間。研究顯示體重平均增加了0.37公斤，遠遠低于預期值2.3公斤。

一些研究指出許多成人會在節假日增加體重是因為他們喜歡吃美食，而在節假日期間他們更有可能這么做。無論如何，沒理由讓你的假期歡樂變成新年悔恨。

我們在面對威脅時，一般反應是抵抗或者逃走。然而，當我們面對琳瑯滿目的食物時，我們的反應似乎是竭盡所能地吃。

專家表示人們在吃"盡興吃"自助餐時往往會吃的比較多，因為他們認為這樣他們花的錢才劃算。他們常常忘了，不論他們只吃自己所需的份量，還是他們想吃什么就吃什么，付出的錢都一樣多。事實上，像這樣的行為把人和實驗室用的老鼠放到了同一水準上。當老鼠面對各種食物可以自主選擇時，它們也會忍不住吃得過多。

你該怎樣做才能控制自己的食欲，尤其在節假期間呢？首先，當你看著滿滿一桌菜肴時，只選擇構成均衡營養一餐所需的食物。同時還要慢慢地選。這比眼睛看到什么就拿什么要好得多。