A family tradition ever since my childhood has been to spend a few days holiday each year in one of our many African national parks.
I find revitalisation through being exposed to wild Africa. Observing the natural interplay of different animals and plants gives a broader perspective on the humdrum of life.
Over the years, I have noticed that all wild animals, except in times of drought and famine, maintain a healthy weight.
Some animals, like rhinos, elephants and hippos, are naturally large for good functional reasons. However, I have never seen an obese giraffe, kudu or impala.
Lions and leopards may look sleek and well-fed, but never obese. Hyenas and wild dogs maintain a healthy body weight in their natural state.
But, this ability to maintain a healthy weight is not shared by many domesticated dogs and cats.
Why is this? It boils down to whether the animals are eating and behaving in ways for which they were designed.
Herbivores, like zebras, giraffes, and impala, eat plants.
Lions, leopards, hyenas and wild dogs are carnivores. Only three of the 1,3 million animal species on this planet regularly have obesity issues – dogs, cats and humans – and only when they eat highly processed food.
Professor Barbara Rolls, a nutrition scientist at Pen State University, introduced the concept of the energy density of food.
Highly processed foods like chips, breakfast cereals, white bread, cakes, sugar-sweetened beverages and oil, weight for weight compared to whole foods, contain dramatically higher levels of kilojoules.
Most people eat the same volume of food at meals. Eating whole foods, with much lower kilojoules, allows our body to better control energy intake. Natural foods also are much richer in vital nutrients than ultra-processed foods.
The least energy-dense foods, yet highly nutritious foods, are salads and vegetables and fruit, with between 50-200 kJ per 100 gms.
Boiled potatoes, beans and whole grains have around 300-500 kJ.
Contrast this with meat at around 600-1200kJ, white bread and cheese, pizza at 1000kJ, chips at 2000kJ, chocolate at 2200kJ, and butter and oil at 3300kJ/100gm.
Plant foods in their natural state are high in water and fibre (no kilojoules), which increase the feeling of fullness after a meal.
We can learn from our wild animal friends that eating the natural foods for which we were designed is the best way of maintaining a healthy weight.
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