Mayo Clinic plan (endorsed
by clinic)Definition
TheMayo Clinic plan is the weight-management
program created by the Mayo Clinic, a respected med-
ical facility headquartered in Rochester, Minnesota.
Unlike the fad diet erroneously bearing the clinic’s
name, the actual Mayo plan concentrates on longterm
health rather than a quick weight loss. While the Mayo
Clinic fad diet is a temporary program that promises
the dieter will shed 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) in about
two weeks, people following the 12-week Mayo Clinic
Healthy Weight plan generally lose 1 to 2 pounds (0.45
to 0.90 kilograms) per week. The diet based on the
clinic’s Healthy Weight Pyramid allows unlimited con-
sumption of fruits and vegetables. Exercise is also
prescribed.
Origins
The Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight Program was
created by an organization with a long history of
healthcare and research. The Mayo Clinic grew out
of the medical practice of British doctor William Wor-
rall Mayo and his sons, William James Mayo and
Charles Horace Mayo. William W. Mayo came to
the United States in 1846 and opened his first Minne-
sota medical practice in 1859. During the Civil War, he
served as an examining surgeon for the Union Army.
That work took him to Rochester, where he moved his
family in 1864. Son William was 3 years old; Charles
was born in 1865. Their father opened a medical clinic
in Rochester that flourished. The brothers later prac-
ticed medicine with their father.
William W. Mayo died in 1911 at the age of 91,
and his sons carried on the Mayo Clinic’s medical and
research programs. The clinic researched diabetes dur-
ing the 1920s. In the following decade, clinical studies
included the investigation of new long-acting insulins.
The Mayo Clinic General Clinical Research Center’s
research after World War II included the 1950s studies
of the use of low-cholesterol diets to reduce serum
cholesterol.
The center’sobesityresearch during the 1990s
demonstrated that a person’s body shape affected the
risk for conditions like diabetes and heart attacks. The
clinic defined the body types in terms of familiar
shapes. The person with the majority of the body fat
stored around the waist had an apple shape. The pear-
shaped person’s fat was stored lower in areas such as
the hips and thighs. Research showed that the apple
shape, with fat in the abdominal area, raised the risk of
health problems.
Clinical research also revealed that fidgeting,
movements such as shifting in a chair, burned calories.
The process was labeled ‘‘non-exercise activity
thermogenesis.’’
The Mayo Clinic in November of 2000 unveiled
the first food pyramid targeted at people trying to lose
weight and keep the pounds off. The Mayo Clinic
Healthy Weight Pyramid was based on scientific prin-
ciples and research at the clinic, as well as at Pennsyl-
vania State University and the University of Alabama
at Birmingham.
The universities studied the effect of low-energy-
dense foods on weight loss. Energy density is related to
the calories in food. Low-energy-dense foods have a
small amount of calories in a large amount of a food
such as a fruit or vegetable. High-energy-dense foods
like a candy bar have a large number of calories in a
small amount of food.
The universities’ research demonstrated that peo-
ple on low-energy dense food diets lost weight and
kept the pounds off. Pennsylvania State University’sMayo Clinic dietCalories per
Food group Food sources Daily servings serving
Level 5 sweets Candy and Up to 75
processed sweets calories daily
Level 4 fats Heart-healthy olive 3–5 45
oil, nuts, canola
oil, and avocados
Level 3 Legumes (beans, 3–7 110
protein/dairy peas and lentils),
fish, skinned
white-meat
poultry, fat-free
dairy products
and egg whites
Level 2 Whole-wheat 4–8 70
carbohydrates bread, whole-wheat
pasta, oatmeal,
brown rice and
whole-grain
cereal
Level 1 fruits/ Whole fresh, frozen Vegetables 4 Vegetables 25
vegetables and canned fruits (minimum) Fruit 60
without added Fruit 3
sugar; salad (minimum)
greens; asparagus;
green beans;
broccoli; and
zucchini
Physical activity: Aim for 30 to 60 minutes of moderately intense physical
activity most days of the weekBased on the Mayo Clinic diet pyramid.(Illustration by GGS
Information Services/Thomson Gale.)Mayo Clinic plan (endorsed by clinic)