Health experts have revealed practical strategies for achieving satisfaction during meals without overeating, including drinking water before eating and consuming high-fibre foods.
The experts noted that making the right choices and understanding portion control can help adults feel full with smaller quantities of food.
In Nigeria, the belief that a chubby or fat child is well fed and signifies the parents’ wealth is fuelling the notion that one must eat until they are “belly full”, loosely pronounced as “belle full.”
But the experts warned that eating until full leads to overeating and advised adults to focus on achieving satisfaction rather than fullness during meals.
Overeating could trigger a heart attack and other non-communicable diseases, including cancer, diabetes, obesity and hypertension.
Another report also showed that overeating could be a sign of depression, with psychologists warning against eating for emotional relief rather than for nutritional needs.
According to MD Anderson Cancer Centre, when an individual overeats, the hydrochloric acid produced in the stomach to break down food is forced back into the oesophagus, resulting in heartburn or acid reflux, organ strain, and increased risk of cancer, diabetes and hypertension.
Constantly eating until one is full may also lead to unwanted and excess body weight.
While most Nigerian foods are healthy, nutrient-dense foods, the culture of eating until one’s stomach is bulging seems to be a factor driving the idea of taking more portions of food until one is full.
Commenting on the matter, a Professor of Endocrinology at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idiaraba, Mushin, Olufemi Fasanmade, cautioned against the common habit of eating until one feels full.
He said, “Eat three to four times a day, but in small portions. If you tend to eat until you are full, it would lead to overeating. In a sitting, just take small portions. For example, one wrap of amala, one slice of yam at a particular sitting.”
The endocrinologist emphasised that portion control is essential for maintaining healthy eating habits, noting that adults should stop eating when satisfied rather than when they feel full.
Fasanmade stressed that consuming small portions at regular intervals throughout the day helps prevent excessive calorie intake and supports better weight management.
Also speaking, the Assistant Chief Dietitian at the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta, Funmilayo Oluwasola, explained the difference between eating to satisfaction and eating to fullness.
She noted that while it is natural to want satisfaction from meals, there are effective methods to achieve this without consuming large quantities of food.
The dietitian explained that drinking water before meals is an effective strategy to reduce the amount of food needed to feel satisfied, as it partially fills the stomach and naturally limits portion sizes.
Oluwasola said, “Of course, if one is not satisfied, there would always be the urge to eat. So, what we should focus on is gaining satisfaction at whatever we find, whatever we are eating, and there are ways to do that. For instance, if I’m trying to make someone lose weight, I’m going to tell the person to drink water before eating. So, it reduces the amount of space the person has to eat the proper food before the person gets full. So, it reduces the quantity of food to be taken.”
She also highlighted the role of high fibre foods in promoting feelings of fullness with smaller portions of food.
Oluwasola advised, “The other things that make one feel full in their diet are foods with high fibre content. For example, vegetables, oats or whole grain meals. So, you tend to feel full with a little quantity of food. You don’t really have to eat so much. If you make the right choice, you don’t need to eat in large quantities before you feel full.”
She particularly recommended oatmeal as an excellent option for those looking to feel satisfied with smaller portions.
Oluwasola said, “If you are going to take something like oat swallow, something that is high in fibre, you can always trust that with a little quantity, you are going to feel full. So, there are just tricks around it.”
The dietitian provided specific guidelines on appropriate portion sizes for moderately active adults, recommending about 1,800 calories per day.
She explained, “For an elderly adult that is moderately active, that is not so active and all that, I would be looking at something around 1,800 calories per day, and so that boils down to something around maybe three to four slices of bread with tea and vegetable sauce or something. Then, speaking of wraps of fufu, you know there are different sizes of wraps of swallow now, but an average size or a fist size of wraps, maybe two should be okay for someone who is moderately active. Two wraps of fist size swallow should do with a lot of vegetables.”
Regarding rice consumption, she specified that two to two and a half serving spoons would be appropriate for regular adults.
She said, “Speaking of rice, we can talk about maybe two to two and a half to three serving spoons, the regular size, should be okay for a regular adult.”
The nutritionist also addressed meal timing and frequency, noting that healthy adults without underlying health conditions could eat three times daily.
Oluwasola explained, “Speaking of an elderly adult who is moderately active, they can actually eat three times a day. If they’re not so active, you can eat less. Or at the same time, even when they’re eating less often or three times a day, the quantity and quality of what they’re eating still matter. So, we start to look at maybe the amount of calories present in whatever they’re eating, and that boils down to a lot of factors in the food.”
She emphasised that the timing of meals plays a crucial role in healthy eating, advising that the largest meal should be consumed during the most active part of the day.
The dietitian stated, “Now, the highest quantity of food or the food with the highest quantity of calories should be eaten during the day when the person is most active. So, that’s usually around lunchtime, around twelve to one, two, thereabouts. So, as the day winds down and closes down, you eat foods with fewer calories.”
Oluwasola suggested lighter evening meal options such as pap with vegetables, smaller portions of rice with more vegetables, or reduced quantities of other foods.
While acknowledging that many Nigerian households typically have their main meal at night, she stressed the importance of being mindful about portion sizes during evening meals.
She said, “Options like maybe pap and vegetable, it can also be rice but less quantity, more vegetables, or it can just be anything with less quantity because I don’t want to say don’t take swallow at night when I know that most households in Nigeria take this at night, but they have to be specific about quantity.”
Credit: PUNCH
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