This article makes sense. However the variety of diet books and theories on what foods contribute to storing fat indicates our meager understanding of the diet-energy equation. A while back the Atkin’s diet was all the rage – it works, but maintaining it probably leads to malnourishment and premature death. Biological systems, like us, are incredibly complex with other factors like metabolism and mood also playing havoc with our energy burn rate. Maintaining a healthy weight range is a matter of energy in equals energy out. Our modern lifestyle has definitely made us less active than in the past. Now, most of us drive, and most parents drop their kids off at the school gate. But if we do less physically, why do we eat the same, or more? Hopefully Jennie Brand-Miller and Rebecca Reynolds have found an answer to this mystery.

Great stuff. Thankyou Jenny and Rebecca.

For all that complex explanation, the conclusion is wonderfully simple;

“Revert to a more traditional diet, full of foods that score high on the SI, such as porridge, fruit and fish, and stop such ‘dietary trickery’ now.”

Of course it is not really that simple. But it is still a pretty good foundation.

Robg, you say that it is all highly complex, but then you imply that it is basically as simple as “energy in, energy out”.

It is certainly highly complex, and I have come to view this ‘EIEO’ philosophy as a load of rubbish. It seems to me that most of us can take in vastly more energy than we utilise without putting on weight or perhaps very slowly accruing fat reserves.

So, measuring kilojoule intake and kilojoules burnt during exercise, or throughout the day, just doesn’t add up to a hill of healthy beans.

OK, so EIEO is not entirely spurious, but the SI sounds like a much more sensible concept. Of course the two fit together as well, they are not mutually exclusive.

I guess the whole point of exploring SI and related matters is to get past the fact that many of us have enormous difficulty in controlling our intake, despite perhaps being very conscious of our EIEO ratio. It is all about winning or perhaps avoiding the psychological war in our heads, which an increasing portion of the populace loses.

But of course it doesn’t forego the need to exercise, and in a very meaningful manner, not just some pedantic half-hearted effort. This again is plagued by that psychological tussle in our heads, especially for many people who innately think of exercise as hard work, sweaty… and embarrassing if you’re obviously unfit.

The trick is to see the positives of a good exercise regime, apart from weight-loss and prevention of heart attack and stroke… such as socialising, fresh air, increased energy levels through the day, happier demeanour, etc. Once there is a positive outlook, it can very easily become part of a regular routine that you actually look forward to. That is the way it has been for me for many years now – I very much look forward to it every day.

And now for the controversial bit – if you get into this positive exercise regime you don’t have to worry anywhere near as much about your eating regime!

I'm going to make myself a very very rich man... How? By marketing diets... At the end of the day, there are only three diets that work...
1: the Eat less diet
2: the exercise more diet
3: the cigarettes, coffee and amphetamines diet.
Anything else is just nuances on these three fundamentals.

The first two are the diets that diet professionals carefully avoid talking about... They must have realised that people don't like hearing the simple truth...

So I think the third has the best marketing potential... I'm going to get some dealers on-side and make a killing selling the amphetamines diet...

*joke*

Aaaaaaaah haaaaa haa hahahahaahahahahhhaaaa ……. hahahaa…. ha ha . …... he he …….hu haw….. hmmmm ………. eeeerrrgh

Very funny……… or it should be………………………..’cept it tooo close to the truth!!

• Rebecca Reynolds ..."Fullness is a new buzz word in the world of diet today, and was quantified over a decade ago by Jennie Brand-Miller, Sue Holt and others at Sydney University's Nutrition Department. Jennie's team invented a new 'scientific' measure of fullness, the satiety index"... There may be some merit to this idea for those living in an utter opulence and most incredibly still hanging-out for a banana at $3 each in the Smart-State of Peter Beattie!

Speaking of the sour-grapes ... or a propos decimated fortunes of the grape-growers, let's us reflect on the battlers who were forced to-plough into-the-ground their freshly harvested produce due-to-colossal grape-glut in this country. Where "to-appease" ravaged farmers, our Smart-State primary industries ministry okayed in-turn a highly-inflated-price of grapes at $5kg to consumer. Still having audacity to-brag with-a-straight chutzpah face that it was "simply-a-case of supply-and-demand" (if not for the invisible-hand-throttled monopoly-market).

As-a-result local bananas likewise continue to surge in price, peaking at $15kg for the elite conglomerate, whose staple-diet seems to-be compromised without the exotic banana. Having said that, I must disagree at this point with-a-quote: "Good Health Is Not Generally a Question of Money"! Which was actually stated by highly respected otherwise Dr Sandra Cabot, renowned for her best-selling 'Liver Cleansing Diet' and recently conducted telethon: 'Your Health Is Your Greatest Asset'. What surely sounds like a common-sense-logic, if not for the fact that without the sufficient monetary means in the 21st century, such-a-slogan becomes utterly hollow rhetoric.

One only have to glance at the lack-of-access to the vital health-care in a Smart-State by the general public. Compounded by the escalating cost of fresh fruit-n-vegies in Brisbane. Where solely Kerry Packer's calibre to afford red-capsicums at $7kg, thanks to the creed-of-greed churned monopoly. Yet charismatic captain of the Smart State still having chutzpah to stage his multimillion-dollar adverts extravaganza. Canvassed in a cavalier fashion in lieu of the purported "action-taken" against the pandemic obesity, just as Smart-State govt lied moreover a propos "turned-corner" in the health-care delivery. What have been utterly insulting to the commonsense intelligence of the malnourished citizens.