farmdoc's blog post number 189

Until I read this article, I didn’t know the body mass index [BMI] was invented over 150 years ago. Here’s a BMI calculator. I’m currently 175cm and 70.1kg, so my BMI’s 22.9 which is within the normal range (18.5-24.9). But my ideal weight’s 67.5kg equating to a 22.0 BMI which is nearer the 21.7 middle of the normal range. But for some reason I’m having trouble getting there after putting on my usual three winter kilograms. I think I eat healthily – certainly no junk food. And I exercise daily (recently mainly splitting and stacking wood, and walking). But my weight’s not falling. Why? This article in the current BMJ, reports a Japanese study showing that eating quickly and eating until full are associated with being overweight, independent of total energy intake and other confounding variables; and these two eating behaviours combined may have a substantial impact on being overweight. Assuming these conclusions apply in Tasmania, the key issue for me – which this survey didn’t study – is whether eating slowly and stopping eating before full are beneficial weight-wise. In his 2008 book In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto, Michael Pollan suggests they are. I’m guilty on both counts, which may explain my plight. Anyhow I’m giving it a try – I’ve resolved to eat more slowly, and to stop before I’m full. Stay tuned, folks.