Americans continue to fatten up.

• Position: YOUR LIFE - Brief Article

Ninety percent of dieters who lose weight regain all or part of it within five years. Obviously, fad and crash diets are not the answer to slimming down permanently. The intrinsic nature of our nation's dieting habits is that we all are focusing on a deadline. We want to lose 40 pounds before the first day of summer; 20 pounds in time for the class reunion; 10 pounds by our wedding day.

Instead of concentrating on following a weight-loss diet plan over a select period of time, Glenn A. Gaesser, professor of exercise physiology at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, believes Americans need to apply that...