Loose Women: Dr Hilary discusses how to live longer
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Life expectancy cannot be predicted with absolute precision because unforeseen events can threaten longevity. However, poor health measures provide a rough estimation of one’s lifespan. One of the worst predictors of life expectancy is obesity, which is tied to a host of life-threatening conditions, such as coronary heart disease.
Diet is pivotal to warding off the threat of obesity and research suggests attention should be paid to more than just what we eat.
Eating speed may play a role in developing obesity, findings published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) suggest.
The study focussed on eating speed in patients with type 2 diabetes.
The aim was analyse the effects of changes in lifestyle habits on changes in obesity.
The study subjects comprised Japanese men and women who had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes from 2008 to 2013.
Body mass index (BMI) was measured, and obesity was defined as a BMI of 25 or more.
BMI is a measure of whether you’re a healthy weight for your height.
Information on lifestyle habits were obtained from the subjects’ responses to questions asked during health check-ups.
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Three categories were provided to gauge eating speed: fast, normal and slow.
Other lifestyle habits included eating dinner within two hours of sleeping, after-dinner snacking, skipping breakfast, alcohol consumption frequency, sleep adequacy and tobacco consumption.
So, what did the researchers find out?
Findings indicated that eating slower inhibited the development of obesity.
Slow and normal-speed eaters indicated that these groups were less likely to be obese than fast eaters.
Similarly, eating slower was associated with reduced BMI and waist circumference.
The researchers concluded: “Interventions aimed at reducing eating speed may be effective in preventing obesity and lowering the associated health risks.”
Other key lifestyle tips
The best way to lose weight is to reduce how many calories you’re eating and get more active at the same time.
“Research has shown that eating a healthy, balanced diet with lots of fruit and veg, whole grains, oily fish, modest amounts of meat and dairy, and olive oil in place of saturated fats can help you to maintain a healthy weight over the long term,” reports Bupa.
Many of these items can be found in the Mediterranean-style diet.
“Being more active in addition to making changes to your diet will give you the best chance of losing weight and keeping it off,” says Bupa.
“This is because your body needs energy (calories) in order to move.”
According to UK health guidelines, you should do at least 150 minutes (two and a half hours) of moderate-intensity exercise a week.
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