If water cooler talk is an accurate barometer, middle-aged American women may have just reached a tipping point. News that we need an hour of moderate exercise every single day just to avoid weight gain has women pondering: Is that goal even remotely possible? Of course. First, let's consider the content of the study, published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study followed 34,079 women over 13 years. In that time, they gained an average of about 6 pounds each. Don't let the word 'average' fool you into thinking that a handful of really heavy women skewed the average. Some 87 percent of the women gained weight. But don't think it's impossible to avoid. Six pounds isn't a huge amount of weight to lose. Here are a few things to try: Your starting point: The first thing you should do is know what you weigh, what your body mass index and waist measurement are and, most importantly, what you ought to weigh for your gender, height and build. User-friendly calculators can be found at www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi and www.cdc.gov/healthy weight/assessing. Both Web sites offer plenty of sensible advice on weight loss and exercise, too. Exercise: The study refers to an hour of moderate exercise -- hiking, golf or walking -- which for most people would burn 300-400 calories. If you can, amp up the activity level to the 'vigorous' category and you can get up to twice the calorie burn with activities such as running, aerobics or swimming. (www.cdc.gov/healthyweight offers a chart.) Other activities: Don't overlook the caloric burn of nongym activity. Light gardening or yard work is considered moderate activity and can burn about 330 calories in an hour; heavy yard work (digging, shoveling, chopping wood) can burn 440 in an hour. Moderate sexual activity can burn 88 in an hour. On the other hand, an hour of floor scrubbing burns 469 calories. You decide. The Web site www.caloriesperhour.com can calculate the calorie burn in all kinds of activities, from accordion playing (122 per hour) to yoga (170 calories). Simple changes: Adding simple physical activity can add up. Take the stairs instead of an elevator. Every five minutes of stair climbing burns 45 calories. Park as far out in the mall parking lot as you can and walk briskly (4 mph) to the door: Just this five-minute walk will burn 28 calories. Spend half of your lunch hour walking the same pace and you'll burn 170 calories. Belly fat: The folks at Prevention Magazine were so successful with their 'Flat Belly Diet' book in 2008 that they recently came out with a version for men. Many women found success at getting rid of abdominal fat -- the dangerous kind that puts us at a higher risk for heart disease. Many dietitians, including Rebecca Reeves at Baylor College of Medicine, evaluated the diet as a standard weight-loss plan. It limits calorie intake to 1,600 calories, evenly distributed in four meals. Monounsaturated fats -- think dark chocolate, olive oil, avocado, nuts and salmon -- are the nutritional framework. Portion control: Most people are overweight for one simple reason: They eat too much. Understand what a serving size is -- 3 ounces of meat, one cup of pasta -- and you'll find calorie counting isn't that hard. It may be tough at first, but in time you'll find that you don't have to be stuffed to be satisfied. The American Dietetic Association offers good advice at www.eatright.org. Watch your calories: If you want to make cutbacks, take the Men's Health 'Eat This, Not That' approach. There are places in your diet where you really can cut corners and still like what you eat. Skip the cheese on a hamburger and save 100 calories. If you normally put a tablespoon of half-and-half (20 calories) in your coffee in the morning, try the fat-free version (9 calories) -- you won't taste the difference. Medical tests: Middle-aged women should talk to their doctors about two common medical issues: changing hormones and thyroid disease. Some 20 million Americans are currently treated for thyroid disease; diagnosing it involves a blood test, and treatment usually means a prescription medication. Hormone issues are virtually unavoidable but can be controlled once a woman is tested and knows what her estrogen, testosterone and progesterone levels are. XXX - End of Story3D 