Overweight or obese and wanting to lose weight?  Which diet would be best to follow – a low-fat or low-carbohydrate diet?   If you have a genetic predisposition to do better on one of these diets, what difference would it make?  What role does your level of insulin secretion play in your efforts to lose weight? A comprehensive study conducted by researchers from the Stanford Prevention Research Centre has tried to answer these questions – whether low-fat or low-carb diets are more effective for some people, based on their genetic makeup and insulin secretion levels..  The results are unexpected! A total number of 609 overweight or obese men and woman between the ages of 18 and 50 participated in this 12 month long

Do you see yourself as fat and fit and fine? It may be preferable to than fat and unfit, but definitely not fine if you want to live long. A higher than normal body mass index (BMI) has irrefutably been linked to premature death, in a large international study that conducted 239 prospective studies amongst more than 10 million people in 32 countries. People who smoked, had a chronic condition or died within 5 years were excluded from the findings of the study. Although the Global BMI Mortality Collaboration studies were conducted in Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Europe and North America, you can bet your bottom dollar (or rock-bottom Rand!) that the findings apply to South Africa as well.

Within our bodies lurks a silent, active and extremely dangerous assassin called Inner fat. It goes under a number of aliases – Abdominal fat, or Active fat, or Visceral fat,  as it is known in medical circles.  Visceral fat is quite bulky and hides out of reach, deep inside the abdominal cavity, where it occupies the spaces between the abdominal organs, and from where it launches a quiet onslaught on our bodies.  Visceral fat is assisted by a partner in crime, Subcutaneous fat. The relationship between these two partners: Visceral fat (“Inner fat”) is a potential killer that lurks deep within the abdominal cavity, padding the spaces between the abdominal organs, such as the liver, pancreas and intestines. As it

When trying to lose weight, there are more diets out there than one can follow in a lifetime!   Sometimes it is not only what you eat, but how much you eat that affects your weight.  Eating too fast can easily lead to overeating. A very simple eating practice originated in Japan, called the 80% rule.  It boils down to getting into the habit of only eating 80% of the food you would normally have on your plate.  Eating slowly, chewing carefully and stopping when you are 80% full gives your stomach enough time (15 – 20 minutes) to tell your brain that it’s full.  You will actually feel more satisfied and have improved digestion.  How to get into the 80%

WHY DAILY EXERCISE IS IMPORTANT IN OBESITY  Daily physical activity improves the insulin sensitivity of skeletal muscle  Daily exercise is a very powerful stress reducer (and its free!), which  in turn curbs one’s    appetite.   Stress and obesity go hand in hand  Daily exercise increases your metabolism, with more energy being used and less being stored as   fat    WHY DAILY FIBER INTAKE IS IMPORTANT IN OBESITY Fiber slows down the rate of intestinal carbohydrate absorption Fiber increases the transit speed to the ileum, which allows satiety signals to reach the brain sooner Fiber allows more free fatty acids to reach the colon, where they are metabolized by colonic bacteria to short chain fatty acids, which amongst other things, suppresses the release of insulin  

New statistics, recently released, estimate that the number of obese and overweight people in the world has jumped from 860 million in 1980 to around 2.1 billion in 2013.  This means that almost a third of the world is now overweight. Worldwide prevalence of obesity and overweight during this period (1980 – 2013) rose by 28% for adults and by 47% for children.  The rise in childhood obesity is particularly troubling in developing countries. No country has been able to curb these frightening increases in the obesity rates.  According to the US Centres for Disease control (CDC), in the UK 25% of the adult population is obese.  In the US, more than one-third of the US population is obese, and

A few secrets before we talk food. It is very important to always have water available wherever you are that you can readily sip while working, talking, in meetings, in the car or even listening to others in talks.  This eliminates so called “throat food” – food that we eat when we are actually thirsty. Equally important is to have 3 meals a day with nothing in between, except for water. To sit down and enjoy each meal as a “mini feast” – never eat when, standing, walking, driving or busy on the computer. To eat slowly  –  the longer one chews food and keeps it in ones mouth, the more signals go from the mouth cavity to the brain signaling food

You all know by now that Health Insight does NOT believe in magic bullets and diet fads. Keep it simple and keep it healthy. 1. Keep a daily food diary – open and transparent to all 2. Discover what works for you ….. we are all different! (Geneva – your genetic profile) 3. Eat breakfast 4. Set realistic goals 5. Do not give up 6. Make exercise a priority ……. remember exercise is more important than food! 7. Load up on veggies and fruit 8. Reward yourself 9. Be a savvy shopper ……. read labels 10.Eat slowly 11.Only eat when seated at a table 12.Sip water throughout the day 13.Love yourself