Health Gem

IF YOU DO ONE THING THIS WEEK . . . LEARN WHEN YOU ARE HUNGRY

Eat when you are hungry: it sounds like common sense, doesn’t it? But think about it – do you really eat according to hunger, or is it habit or the clock that determines when and how much you eat?

A small intervention study in Italy found that learning to recognise the body’s signals of “initial hunger” – including gastric pangs and feelings of hollowness – and adjusting portions accordingly can help reduce excess weight and improve blood-sugar regulation.

The study, published in the Journal of Nutrition and Metabolismearlier this year, tracked a group of more than 70 people that followed the "initial hunger meal pattern" for their three main meals for five months. This group was then compared with more than 20 control participants who just had standard advice about food energy content and physical activity.

The group that self-regulated according to hunger saw greater reductions in body-mass index and improved insulin sensitivity.