Muscle mass holds the key

Press Release - Immediate

Muscle mass holds the key

Auckland,

There is more to this whole disturbing story about obesity rates and fast foods than is being reported says Auckland Registered Dietitian MaryRose Spence.

Obesity rates in our Pacific Island people has been an ongoing challenge. The recommendation for low fat food choices has been there for years – but it hasn’t made any difference. It’s time to change the approach and quit thrashing the ‘old hat’ messages.

“What is missing from the reporting is that Pacific Island people are not just obese but also heavily muscled and this must be taken into account with regard to diet.”

“It’s like they are built with a bigger engine inside them – and effectively this uses food faster and when they get hungry – they get real hungry. Fatty foods satisfy this. Unless you are a heavily muscled person yourself, it’s difficult to understand the desperate need for food that comes with long gaps between meals or poorly balanced meals.”

“These people will know that fried foods are not good for them – but they can’t resist. If we are to ever help them out of this hole the focus needs to be on a good breakfast. Then the cravings for fatty foods over the day that give the “energy punch” are not needed.”

Spence is specific with the breakfast – “Breakfast for these people needs to be hearty – the traditional boil up with some components changed to achieve a low fat meal would be excellent. Or simply beans on toast would do the job – but there does need to be a protein component –to satisfy the ‘big engine’”.

“If we look at cultures where there is less muscle mass, there is a direct relationship between that and food choices. We don’t see people from Asian nations consuming lots of fatty fried food.”

It’s no good telling people to cut out takeaways – or worse – applying fast food tariffs. There are other more successful routes to weight loss for Pacific Island people.

ENDS

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