I was really interested to watch Horizon this week which showed an experiment on twins, both doctors, Chris and Xand van Tulleken.

For a period of about one month one twin had to consume just fatty, high protein foods and the other carb-rich sugary food. During and at the end of this research they took lots of tests which measured their level of fitness, weight, cholesterol and blood sugar.  What was really surprising was the twin who had enjoyed the sugary diet remained roughly the same in terms if body composition, weight and fitness, but the other twin – although he more weight – ended up losing a significant amount of muscle mass and also was dangerously close to becoming diet. For the doctors and I would imagine for most of the general public this was contrary to what they had expected, as it would generally be thought that a diet high in sugar would tend to lead to diabetes and other life-threatening illnesses.

The conclusion that was eventually drawn was that the major reason for our current obesity crisis is down to both sugar and fat in equal measure. A large proportion of processed food contains almost half and half sugar and fat and apparently it is this combination which is highly addictive. These types of food are difficult to resist and can lead to an addiction which can be as strong drugs or alcohol.

As we all probably realise deep down there is no magic solution to the obesity crisis. In a society which tends to favour extremes and quick fixes, we have to ultimately realise that what is needed is balance and a return to wholesome natural unprocessed food.

I remember my mum telling me what she used to eat as a child and a lot of it sounded really unhealthy, bread and dripping, heavy puddings, dumplings, butter and the list goes on. However there wasn’t a huge problem ith obesity at that time. Of course, people tended to do more physical activity  and this is something which needs to be addressed too.

At a basic level it is really quite simple: exercise more and eat good quality, unprocessed food in reasonable quantities. Unfortunately, this seems to be something that many of us find so difficult to do.

My very best wishes for a healthy February,
Wendy x