The Checkup: Why You Should Eat Like You’re Greek

Following a Mediterranean diet could help you shed pounds and keep them off, a new study says.

• Ah, yes. You always knew there was something to the way those Greek folks eat—all that fish, that produce, that fresh-pressed EVOO. A new study confirms your suspicions, finding that a Mediterranean diet could help you lose almost double the weight of other diets (see: low-carb, low-fat), and help you keep it off for the long haul. In the study, researchers took a group of 322 moderately obese people and randomly assigned them to either a low-carb, low-fat or Mediterranean diet. At the six-year mark, the Mediterranean dieters were down seven pounds; those in the low-carb group lost on average of about four pounds pounds and low-fat group less than two, according to WebMD. The takeaway? Go Greek—like, starting now.

• 163.2—that’s the number of extra calories subjects who used standing desks burned compared to those who used seated desks, according to a new study. More here.

• Access to parkland does not a walking community make—that’s the lesson of a new study which found that proximity to parks and open space doesn’t result in more walkers. In fact, it’s the opposite: those within a half-mile of parks go on fewer walks than those who don’t have parks nearby. Reuters has the whole story.