Never say diet
by Vincent Ciccarello
It
sounds too good to be true: a weight-loss program with no diet and
little exercise. But, as UniSA's Associate Professor Jon Buckley
explains, there's mounting evidence to suggest it's already possible.
Have you ever noticed that people who drink a lot of tea don't get fat? And why is it obese Eskimos and Panamanian Indians have low rates of cardiovascular disease? Public health scientists have been turning their attention to these questions in recent years. The answer, it seems, is bioactive nutrients such as the flavonols found in tea and cocoa, and omega 3 fatty acids.
Deputy Director of the Nutritional Physiology Research Centre and
Co-Director of the Australian Technology Network Centre for Metabolic
Fitness, Prof Buckley said these nutrients, which alter the "machinery"
inside muscle tissue to burn more fat, could be a powerful weapon in
tackling the growing obesity epidemic.
"We're looking for things we can feed people that will help them lose weight
without having to diet," he said.
"We know people won't stick with diets, some of which we know are
effective. But people have trouble complying with them over the longer
term."
An added problem is that exercise, despite its many health benefits, is not
an efficient way to lose body fat.
"If you're exercising to lose weight and you've decided dieting is not for
you, the literature shows you need to do 60 to 90 minutes per day to lose
any significant amount of body fat," Buckley said.
Overseas trials suggest that even in a high fat diet, incorporating
flavonols and omega 3 fatty acids reduces body fat. Further, these nutrients
have the added benefits of lowering blood pressure, rates of cardiovascular
disease and the incidence of diabetes.
Prof Buckley is conducting trials to measure how nutrient-enriched foods and
a moderate exercise regime of walking three times a week, reduce body fat.
The results of some of these trials are already available.
"It is difficult to get people to change their behaviour," Buckley said, "so we want to come up with safe, easy options for reducing body fat that don't require drugs."
UniSA is working with the food industry to develop nutrient-enriched
foods. Trials of flavonol-enriched chocolate and omega 3-enriched pork are
now in progress.
"Our ultimate goal is to get these nutrients into the food you're already
eating, so that you just get them as part of your regular diet," Buckley
said.
While that may be some time away, people can already take advantage of these
nutrients readily available in dark chocolate, green tea extract and omega 3
supplements.
Professor Jon Buckley presents the seminar Never say diet: a weight loss
program with no diet and little exercise? at 6.30pm, Wednesday July 19 in
the Mutual Community lecture theatre (H2-02) at UniSA's City East campus.
Register at
http://www.unisa.edu.au/hsc/bok/seminar3.asp