I've seen T-shirts with the words "Eat Less" and "Thin is in"; not on mannequins, mind you, but displayed on underweight bodies strutting the streets of Port-of-Spain. And while I'm all for irony and satire, I'm incensed by the subtle message these logos promote. Eating less to live longer is such a vague and treacherous statement, because everyone interprets it differently; how much is more? How much is less?
"The adage shouldn't be "eat little, live longer", but "eat within the requirements for age, sex and activity levels in order to achieve the balanced diet which the optimum energy and nutrient levels are maintained for a healthy existence," states Joacinthe Huwiler, Senior Dietician at St. Ann's Hospital.
So what if that's too lengthy to be printed on a T-shirt? Then imprint it on your mind. "There are no health benefits in restricting one's caloric intake unless one is overweight and needs to reduce weight to achieve ideal weight. If one is underweight, it can be dangerous to restrict the caloric intake," warns Huwiler. Be cautious, to restrict calories, you may actually be restricting essential nutrients that promote health!
Your health mantra should be "balance is key". "Both over and under nutrition are not beneficial. Depriving one's diet cannot promote longevity if the deprivation leads to the deficiency of those essential nutrients. All nutrients are involved in the metabolic reactions within the body," she explains.
If you are or wish to practice calorie restriction, heed this advice, "It should be done in a controlled way to achieve an end result. The end result should be targeted at weight maintenance or a set weight. Your energy intake should be determined by age, sex and the degree of activity to achieve ideal body weight."
On the long list of health myths, "fasting is healthy" is probably somewhere at the top. "Fasting cannot be considered to be a healthy addition to life unless it is for religious reasons. Eating regularly promotes energy utilisation, eating irregularly promotes energy conservation," says Huwiler. The life cycle is controlled by Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA's) for nutrients. So you can eliminate foods that splurge on calories but not on nutrients. "Eliminate foods and drinks to which refined sugars are added and fried foods. Wise choices from the six food groups of the Caribbean can achieve a balanced diet," she advises.
But lowering your food intake does not reduce your chances of disease. "If one is above one's ideal weight, the possibility of acquiring a non communicable disease or so called lifestyle disease is actually increased," says Huwiler, "if one is below their ideal weight, with a low Body Mass Index (B.M.I), it may indicate that in addition to a low caloric intake, the intake of other essential nutrients are also low." And caloric restriction cannot be viewed in isolation if the other essential nutrients are restricted. While nutrient and energy requirement do decrease with age, a 25-year-old clerical assistant will not have the same energy requirements as a male construction worker or a pregnant female of the same age. So it's decided, the statement "eat little, live longer" is ambiguous. Caloric requirements are governed by the human life cycle; and it has to be considered on an individual basis to achieve balance.