Can We Chew The Fat?

Fat is stored energy. It's excess food/energy we couldn't burn. Belly fat is more dangerous than butt fat because it surrounds abdominal organs, which are susceptible to biochemicals released by fat cells. These chemicals cause inflammation that could lead to heart attacks and strokes. Fat cells expand when we eat too much food/energy and overeating can increase the number of fat cells. When we lose weight, fat cells shrink – they don't disappear. Also, we lose fat proportionately throughout our body. We can't spot-reduce. A pear-shaped person becomes a smaller pear. It's genetics – it's hormones – it's "fat-e".

To lose fat we diet, but the Mediterranean diet – the much-acclaimed diet of fresh fruit, vegetables, fish and olive oil – is losing popularity in the Mediterranean. Young people in Greece, Italy and Spain are adopting the "industrial global diet" of fast food and sodas – and getting fatter. The original Mediterranean diet was a diet of poverty – not choice. When people had more money, they ate more meat. Now, compared to the cost of the Mediterranean diet, the industrial diet of meat, fat and sugar is cheap. For the first time children are predicted to have shorter lives than their parents. We can't afford cheap diets.

Although young people may be bored with the Mediterranean diet, it's not as boring as the "bored diet". In a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 32 women – half being obese – were randomly divided into 2 groups. One group ate macaroni and cheese daily. The other group ate it weekly. After a week the women in the daily group consumed fewer calories, while the weekly group consumed more calories. Repeated exposure to the same thing leads to decreased response – "habituation". It's the same phenomenon that causes addicts to need higher doses of drugs. In this case, however, food is the drug of choice.

Should wives diet to have happier marriages? A 4-year study of 169 newlywed couples – all under age 36 – published in Social Psychological and Personality Science found marital satisfaction was higher for men if their wives were thinner than they were. The wives were also more satisfied if they were thinner. Supposedly, there's an evolutionary explanation for the men's preference – thin women were thought to be more fertile. The explanation for why the wives preferred to be thinner was that they wanted to satisfy their husbands. Yes, this definitely was a study of newlyweds!

About the Author

Knight Pierce Hirst has written for television, newspapers and greeting card companies. Presently she writes a 400-word news blog that is published 3 times a week. KNIGHT WATCH is a second look at uniquely interesting news items that requires only seconds to read at http://knightwatch.typepad.com.