Lean Plate Club

“A growing number of studies find that both real and perceived hunger appear to be passed down from generation to generation, just like hair color or height,” she said. “At the University of Maryland, scientists studying Old Order Amish families have pinpointed two chromosomal ‘regions’ that are linked to both restrained eating and overeating in adults.”

But before you use that as an excuse to let your inner appetite go wild, you should know that the latest findings suggest that genetic influences on eating behavior are bite-sized compared with environmental effects, according to a recent article.

Scientists say there’s plenty of blame to go around, from the easy availability of food to the growing tendency to engineer physical activity out of life, states the article.

“Even people who may not be genetically susceptible to overeating might overeat because of what Yale University psychologist and author Kelly Brownell calls ‘the toxic environment,’ notes Suzanne Mazzeo, assistant professor of psychology and pediatrics at Virginia Commonwealth,” reads the article.

“At the top of the list of environmental influences on eating behavior is something you may never have considered: your family, particularly your parents,” writes Squires. “New research suggests that how they taught you to eat and whether they trained you to use food as a reward or comfort are among the strongest shapers of lifelong eating habits.”

The Lean Plate Club is devoted to healthful eating and boosting activity, wrote Squires.

National food surveys conducted by the federal government state that most people don’t drink enough milk or eat enough spinach to make up for the calcium deficiency, according to the Club.

To get the calcium you need you can toss sesame seeds onto your salad, for example.

A number of Lean Plate members report losing a few pounds without even trying.

In 2001 Diane Lending learned that her extra pounds were taking a health toll.

Since then she has lost 64 pounds, having started in the Lean Plate Club during one Christmas.

Some tips of the Club include recording what you eat, practicing portion control, among other things.

Participants in the Internet and one-on-one groups did better with weight maintenance according to Club literature.

For more information, go to washingtonpost.com/leanplateclub.