WITH Christmas celebrations on the way, food galore will be on the tables of those of us fortunate enough to have the luxury of worrying about what we eat. But how can you avoid putting on the pounds over Christmas?
The secret, according to the latest scientific research, is to take plenty of long walks and forget everything you were told about the desirability of not eating between meals. Nutrition scientists in Edinburgh have discovered that among men, snackers are actually slimmer than non snackers. And among women and children, there is no weight difference between those who snack and those who don't, with children getting as much as one third of their total energy from snacks.
Those who snacked also had a healthier diet, since theirs was higher in carbohydrate (sugar to you and me) and lower in fat. The research also showed that a gorging pattern of eating one big meal instead of several smaller ones contributes to obesity, reported Food and Health Matters, the Irish nutrition newsletter.
It all goes to show that the Scandanavians have the right approach to an old fashioned Christmas. They laden down their tables with buffet style smorgasbords and invite family and friends to nibble all day, instead of sitting down to a gut busting turkey and ham dinner which hangs around like a basketball for days.