The secret to staying thin and healthy may surprise you: it rarely involves dieting.

That's the conclusion of researchers at Cornell University's well-known Food and Brand Lab, which recently discovered that those who have maintained a healthy weight throughout their lives were mindful of what they ate but rarely dieted.

The findings came from an analysis of a global registry of healthy weight that the university maintains. In all, 147 adults whose weight has not shifted more than 10 pounds over the course of their lives were asked about their daily habits. Among their slimming secrets: 96 percent eat breakfast regularly, 42 percent exercised at least five times a week and half of them stepped on a scale every week, according to a university news release.

Notably, 74 percent reported that they never or rarely dieted. But 92 percent said they were conscious of what they ate.

Instead of following a strict diet, many of the participants used simple strategies — such as cooking at home, listening to inner cues and eating high-quality, non-processed foods.

"These results are encouraging because they imply that instead of putting restrictions on one's diet and avoiding favorite foods, weight gain could be prevented early on by learning to listen to inner cues and putting emphasis on the quality instead of the quantity of food," lead researcher Anna-Leena Vuorinen, of VTT Technical Research Centre in Finland, said in a statement.

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Allie Shah • 612-673-4488