Women warned about ‘weighty’ issues

Utah, United States, January 4: Middle aged women who do not keep a check on what they eat are likely to gain weight over a period of time. According to a three year study done by Brigham Young University researchers, the probability of gaining weight becomes twice in women who do not eat less.

Researchers Larry A. Tucker, PhD and Laura Bates took into account 192 women with an average age of 40. All these women were not obese, had not reached menopause and were non-smokers.

The weight and body fat of these women were measured at the beginning of the study. For seven days, they were made to keep a detailed account of what they ate and how much.

After three years, physical tests and food-intake analysis were done again. The researchers observed that as the age of women increases, they are likely to gain weight. Also, the amount of physical activity reduces as age progresses.

But there is a silver lining, as it was found that all the women did not gain weight. Even if exercise is excluded, there are 69 percent less chances of a woman gaining more than 2.2 pounds if she eats less. Also, the probability of gaining 6.6 pounds or more decreases by 2.4 times in such women.

Tucker and Bates said, “It matters little at what point women are regarding restricted eating. What matters most is that they increase their dietary restraint over time or they are likely to gain weight.”

It has also been observed that women who eat more as a measure to ward off depressiondefine, loneliness or other such emotional states are more at the risk of gaining weight. This is in comparison to women who do not increase the food intake during such behavioral changes. “To avoid weight gain, these women have to learn to control their food consumption during emotionally challenging situations,” observed Tucker and Bates.

Some previous studies reveal that women who try to eat less food actually end up putting on weight as they tend to binge. The deprivation feelings lead to bingeing and eventually weight gain.

However, Tucker and Bates did not find any such thing, though they did agree that binge eating does occur in people who try to deprive themselves of food.

“Tight regulation of food intake may lead to bingeing from time to time, but over the long term, fewer calories are consumed and the risk of weight gain is much less in women who practice restricted eating,” Tucker and Bates said. “In fact, women have to increase restraint over time to keep from gaining weight and body fat.”