The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

In years past, many nutrition and weight-loss experts gave their patients rigid guidelines to follow. They often counseled eating less, switching to low-fat foods, carrying sliced celery in a plastic bag for snack time, and eating high-volume, modest-calorie foods like salads.

This approach proved spectacularly unsuccessful, at least if you judge it by rampant obesity rates. Now, many of these same nutrition experts are taking a simpler, gentler approach. Physician Yoni Freedhoff has made the switch. Freedhoff also argues that the new way is a better way.

An assistant professor of family me...