[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by Halibut

Sincere congratulations to everyone for being mindful of all facets of health. And it isn't even new year's yet!

I'm fascinated by the issue of weight and metabolism since (1) there are so many variables and individual differences, and (2) so much is still unknown on a basic biological level.

It's easy to demonize sugar, or saturated fat, or carbs, or wheat, or dairy, or meat, or fast food, or processed food, or non-organic food, or pesticides, and on and on, but there isn't one simple answer. So many "rules" are diametric opposites, such as eating five small meals vs intermittent fasting. There's also research into how sleep restriction causes weight gain. An interesting topic, indeed.

In passing, there is a school of thought that glucose regulation may be impaired when meal frequency is reduced: Morning plasma glucose concentrations were significantly greater in subjects when they were consuming 1 meal a day compared to when they were consuming 3 meals a day. When consuming 1 meal a day, the subjects exhibited poorer glucose tolerance as indicated by a significantly greater and more prolonged elevation of plasma glucose concentrations compared to subjects consuming 3 meals a day.

But hey, glucometers are available over the counter if anyone is interested in tracking specifically how and what they're eating affects their blood sugar.

On the other side of the coin, I am what most people would probably call frail and need to gain weight, which has been quite difficult for me my whole life.

There is even a school of thought that people with a higher BMI have a lower mortality risk:

"The relationship between body mass index (BMI) and mortality remains the subject of much debate. A recent meta-analysis concluded that compared to those of normal weight (BMI<25.0), overweight individuals (BMI 25.0–29.9) had a significantly lower mortality risk. Even Class 1 obesity (BMI 30–34.9) was associated with marginally reduced mortality."

I'm not saying that is true; I have no idea! Information is constantly changing, and much of it is contradictory.

As Halibut said:

"I'm fascinated by the issue of weight and metabolism since (1) there are so many variables and individual differences, and (2) so much is still unknown on a basic biological level."