What Type Of Eater Are You?

Scientists identified three broad groups:

Feasters, who keep on eating because they never feel full.

Constant carvers, who can’t stop thinking about food. 

Emotional eaters, who raid the biscuit tin in times of trouble.

According to the team, which included Government nutrition advisor Professor Susan Jebb, from Oxford University, and Cambridge geneticist Dr Giles Yeo, each group responds differently to different diets.

They tested their theories on 75 volunteers – 25 from each group – over three months last summer.

The findings will be aired in a three-part Horizon programme, starting on BBC 2 on January 12.

Presenter Chris Dr van Tulleken said "feasters don’t release enough of a hormone known as GLP1, which tells your brain you are full." 

He said: "If you are someone who goes to an all-you-can-eat buffet and never feels full, then chances are you are a feaster."

"Secondly, we know that some people have a genetic risk factor for being overweight. It isn't one gene – there are many. Some of them are about personality, some are about appetite, and some about willpower. Those with lots of these ‘‘obesity genes’’ are the constant carvers."

Finally, we noticed some people self-medicate with food. They eat when they are unhappy. We call them the "emotional eaters."

Having identified the groups, the researchers created different diets for each.

Feasters were given a diet designed to stimulate gut hormone levels with high-protein foods such as meat, fish and pulses, and cut out ‘high-GI’ carbohydrates such as white bread and potatoes.

Constant cravers were put on a version of the 5:2 diet, eating no more than 800 calories for two days every week. They could eat what they liked for the other five.

Emotional eaters were enrolled in Weight Watchers-style classes, on the theory that what they really needed was social support to prevent them turning to food.Dr van Tulleken hopes the work will help people understand what causes their weight problems and "spell an end to fad diets."

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Diets To Stay Away From!

Fad diets can be so seductive: 

They typically offer simplified shopping lists, rules that are easy to remember, and promises of big results. But do the results actually come through? It seems that no one, besides the companies offering those books and products, has really taken a comprehensive look into their effectiveness, until now.

A group of scientists decided to take a deep dive into four fad diets, Atkins, South Beach, Weight Watchers, and Zone, to examine their effectiveness in terms of weight loss and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, particularly in the long term (or over 12 months). Their results, published this week in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, show that not only are the diets largely ineffective, but their big claims weren't properly supported in the first place.

The researchers began by systematically searching for clinical trials of the four diets, which they chose for their popularity. Their primary goal was to find sustained weight loss after 12 months, with more minor goals being changes in body fat, body mass index, waist circumference, blood pressure, and other measures of health.

They found immediate issues with the trials they focused on, finding that the studies hadn't followed proper scientific protocol. For example, they noted that the studies typically used young, white, female, obese participants, giving the potential for bias. (What about men, or any other ethnic group?) They also found that there were very few studies that tested long-term benefits of the diets, or any results after 12 months.

Even putting all those major scientific problems aside, the diets just weren't that effective. Their mean weight loss, across all trials, hovered around six to 10 pounds,and that was just at first. By the 12-month mark, the weight was mostly regained and mirrored the participants in the control group (that is, the people who didn't diet). There was also limited change in cholesterol levels and blood pressure.

Those fad diets require a big commitment and big purchases (packaged food, books, and other products) for relatively little pay-off. The researchers noted that the weight-loss market in the U.S. made around $66 billion in 2013, which is pretty crazy if few people are seeing results.

Of course, the choice of diet is up to you. If you love your South Beach diet and feel it is helping your body, then go with it. But when the next fad diet comes along, feel free to feel suspicious, and take a look to see if there’s any unbiased science actually backing up those lofty claims. While it's not as sexy, the real solution for lasting weight-loss may just be making smarter eating and exercise choices.

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