One reason why mum isn't always right

Please nobody tell her I said that...

Is it possible that the obesity epidemic we are experiencing is not due to what we eat, or when we eat but how we eat?

We were all told as children that we had to finish our plates, in fact in UK culture it is considered rude to leave food. If it is left then it will go to waste.

"There are people all over the world who would be glad for this food so don't be disrespectful and eat it."

It's not really a logical justification is it? Isn't gluttony just as disrespectful? It would make sense to save the rest and have it later when you are hungry again.

"If you don't finish your dinner then you won't get any desert"

Eating beyond the point of satisfaction is rewarded with sweet tasting foods, conditioning us to always eat in excess.


When we are small children we instinctively stop eating when we are no longer hungry, and it seems that we are one of the few cultures who iron that response out:

• Throughout India, Ayurvedic tradition advises eating until 75% full.
• The Japanese practice hari hachi bu, eating until 80% full.
• Islamic guidance from the Qur’an indicates that excess eating is a sin.
• The Chinese specify eating until 70% full.
• The prophet Muhammad described a full belly as one containing 1/3 food, 1/3 liquid, 1/3 air (nothing).
• There is a German expression that says, “Tie off the sack before it gets completely full.”
• “Drink your food and chew your drink,” is an Indian proverb that encourages us to eat slowly enough and chew thoroughly enough, to liquefy our food, and move our drink around our mouth and thoroughly taste it before swallowing.
• When someone is finished eating in France they don’t say “I’m full,” rather, “I have no more hunger.”

The best way to control how you eat when you are used to finishing your plate is to eat slowly. Eating quickly results in people eating more and feeling less satisfied.

There are two types of hunger, physical hunger and mental hunger. Physical hunger is pretty simple, anyone who has gone a long time without food will know what it is. You are physically hungry if you look at a plate of iceberg lettuce and it makes your mouth water. It doesn't matter what you eat, you just need to eat something, lettuce has never tasted so good.

Mental hunger is different, it's the 'I could eat' feeling. If someone presented that plate of lettuce to you wouldn't be interested. However, some brownies...

Mental hunger can also be emotion based, comfort eating, boredom eating and anger eating. If you are eating to comfort yourself then you will never stop, because unfortunately your body doesn't have an 'I've eaten enough to solve my problems' reflex! Learn to control your emotions by asking yourself, would I eat the lettuce?

Physical hunger is satiated by eating, irrespective of what and how. Mental hunger requires time spent eating to be effective. This is why even though they eat fewer calories at a sitting, people who eat slowly report less hunger than those who hurry food.



You should eat without distractions, making meal times a priority lasting at least 20 minutes. Listen to your hunger cues, when you have finished your meal you should feel that you still have room left but are satisfied. The aim of a meal is to feel better than when you started it, not 'full'. Don't be one of those people who spends all day thinking about food and then ignores it as it goes in at the speed of light.

Take the time to understand your eating. If you have a good diet on paper but are still not feeling satisfied then this will probably be the answer.