While some people gain as many as 3 or even 5 pounds during the holiday marathon that stretches from Thanksgiving to New Year's Day, the majority of us only gain a pound or two. If you think that's getting off easy, think again.

Even very slight weight gain, if left intact and repeated regularly, will accumulate over time, almost unnoticeably. Gaining just two pounds every holiday in addition to a few more many people put on after the new year can add up to 30 – 50 pounds of weight gain in a decade.

According to dieticians at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, repeated seasonal weight gain that is never worked off can have disastrous consequences to your long-term health. Medical researchers have shown that abdominal weight gain that occurs in adulthood is the most disease-promoting, leading to diabetes, hypertension, stroke and others.

Making matters worse is the fact that this weight gain tends to be visceral fat – that tough-to-lose fat that accumulates around our abdominal organs.

It becomes very clear that letting yourself slide with a little weight gain every holiday season is a seemingly innocuous trend that can have disastrous consequences.

Check out our favorite collection of healthy Thanksgiving tips.