The media has been flooded in the past week with conversations around the rising rates of overweight and obesity both here in Ireland and across Europe. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently published a report on what they call an “epidemic” of overweight and obesity and have called for swift policy changes to reverse the dangerous trend. Shockingly, in Ireland you are now more likely to be overweight or obese than you are to be a normal weight, and there’s no doubt that the Covid-19 pandemic has played a massive part in the rise in unhealthy eating habits in our communities.

Is extreme dieting the solution?

With this conversation hot in the media at the moment, it can be easy to fall into the trap of extreme dieting and diet companies are no doubt going to latch onto this, promising a quick fix and all the answers to good health. However, you may not like to hear it, but this is NOT the solution!

Research suggests that extreme or constant yoyo dieting which requires a large reduction in calorie intake has a negative impact on our health and is unsustainable in the long term. Massive calorie deficits can slow our metabolism in the short and long term and at some point, you are likely to feel too hungry, unhappy or restricted to continue with the diet and return to the eating patterns you had before starting. For most people, this leads to regaining not only the weight lost, but even more!

As boring as it sounds, working on the basics of healthy eating and focusing on small changes that you can implement consistently into your daily routine will provide you with the long lasting health benefits. That's easier said than done however when there is such a wealth of environmental and commercial barriers to battle against, such as the heavy marketing of unhealthy foods and wide availability of takeaway foods. Which is why we, the food industry, need to step in and support you to make healthier food choices, overcome those barriers and achieve your long-term health goals!

How can Gourmet Fuel help?

Here at Gourmet Fuel, we are conscious of our responsibilities as part of the food industry to help tackle the battle against overweight and obesity. We are dedicated to making quality meals and motivated by a passion to help people make better and informed food choices, improve their healthy eating and adopt long-term healthy lifestyle behaviours! We hope that our expert team, personalised meal plans, detailed front of pack nutrition labelling and promotion of dietary guidelines can play a part in battling this current crisis. 

Research on successful strategies for sustained weight loss also shows the importance of personalised and evolving goal-setting, continuous monitoring, encouraging experiences, strong networks and a supportive community.  Our community of expert chefs, nutritionists and genuine caring foodies are here to support you, so get in touch today and we will tackle whatever challenges you may face together! 

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