such as portion control, exercise

[Tofu]

Hello Alan, Mister Micawber, Beeesneees, Mordant, Esl_Expert and other native English speakers,

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http://uk.health.lifestyle.yahoo.net/Sugar-substitute-assists-long-term-weight-control.htm
Dr. Adam Drewnowski, who conducted an earlier study in the field, said: "Low-calorie sweeteners and reduced-calorie products are not magic bullets, which means using these products will not result in automatic weight loss. Instead, people looking to lose or maintain weight, can use low-calorie sweeteners in addition to other tools (such as portion control, exercise) to help manage their calories."
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Wouldn't "such as portion control and exercise" be much better than the original?

[Mister Micawber]

I wish you would stop second-guessing published texts, Tofu; instead, consider why they are correct. The writer of this text has included an informal, parenthetical remark which is adequately composed for the context (a popular lifestyle website).
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Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's

[Tofu]

Thank you, MM. I wouldn't need to stop asking if my guess is correct, because I can receive helpful comments from people, including you. If I hadn't asked if "and" was better, I couldn't have received a helpful answer from you. Thank you very much. I hope you don't tell me to leave my doubts as they are.

I don't think that portion control, exercise is acceptable in normal writing, because... To avoid confusion, use commas to separate words and word groups with a series of three or more.
http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/commas.asp

[Mister Micawber]

What is 'normal' writing? In the excerpt you have given us, it is a conversational style, and there is no confusion.
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Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's

[Tofu]

I mean, in most writing.