Enjoy Your Food to Maintain Healthy Weight

The key to maintaining a healthy weight might be as simple as giving yourself permission and time to eat foods you enjoy, and to simply pay attention to how hungry or full you are upon deciding when -- and how much -- to eat, according to research from Penn State.

Barbara Lohse, an associate professor of nutritional sciences at Penn State, found support for that approach to healthy eating while studying the Satter Eating Competence Model, also called ecSatter. The model was developed by dietitian/family therapist Ellyn Satter, author of "Secrets of Feeding a Healthy Family" (2005, Kelcy Press).

"Many of us have eating problems, because as children, we are forced into eating more or less food than we need," Lohse said. "That is traumatic. Eating becomes a mindless activity invested with conflict and anxiety, and not something to be enjoyed. To overcome those feelings, you have to ignore how you feel about eating, just eat."

Satter's model for "competent eating" encourages people to develop positive and enjoyable attitudes toward eating, rather than to follow a typical dieting strategy focused on deprivation and a set of foods to avoid. Lohse's team's research indicates that people who practice competent eating have more nutritious diets and healthier body weights. They also tend to have higher levels of good cholesterol and fewer of the "sticky plaque" markers that predict a risk of cardiovascular disease. The Penn State team's findings are published in the September/October issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. To become a competent eater following Satter's approach, you need to practice four habits:

* Take the time to eat rewarding, enjoyable meals and snacks at regular, reliable times;

* Build a positive approach toward eating by seeking out nourishing foods you enjoy, rather than trying to avoid certain foods;

* Be relaxed and comfortable about the foods you eat, and follow your natural inclination to seek variety, which is an important part of healthful eating;

* Pay attention to your body's signals for hunger and fullness, eat when you're hungry and stop when you feel satisfied; if you grow hungry again later, you know you can always enjoy another snack or meal at that time.

Lohse said the Satter model is a fundamental shift from conventional thought on how to manage eating.

"If it was successful to have people be uncomfortable and restrictive with what they eat, just going by the rules for the nutrients and calories they need, we would not have an obesity problem," she said. "We need a different mindset. Weight is not the big issue, but rather being comfortable with how you eat."

Penn State, "Nutrition Model Stresses Positive Experience of Eating." URL: (http://live.psu.edu/story/25987)