In a world where the media often idealizes body perfection and emphasizes diets, a new eating lifestyle is taking a step backward, focusing on regular eating patterns and an individual’s food preferences and hunger.
According to an article from Ivanhoe Broadcast News, researchers from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, compared students who practice intuitive eating to students who do not. People who eat according to an intuitive meal plan eat when they are hungry and regulate how much they eat based on how hungry they are.
Researchers found students who practice intuitive eating had lower body mass index, lower triglyceride levels, higher levels of good cholesterol and a lower risk of cardiovascular disease.
Autumn Douglas, a dietician at the Student Health Center, said intuitive eating is more of a lifestyle than a diet.
“It’s not a fad you follow for a few months,” she said. “It’s basic, normal eating.”
Douglas said intuitive eating brings people back to regular eating habits, since constantly being on a diet has become a major trend for weight loss.
“We make certain food choices because people tell us it’s the thing to do, such as South Beach diet,” Douglas said.”[Intuitive eating] is eating what you want when you want it – stopping when you’re satisfied. It’s basically listening to your hunger signals rather than food rules and diet regulations.”
Douglas said intuitive eating allows for both healthy and non-healthy foods to be included in a diet, but she said people should be educated about healthy food choices.
Intuitive eaters do not have to exclude their favorite foods that may not be completely healthy, Douglas said.
Always adhering to a restricted diet can cause dieters to eventually break down and binge on restricted foods, she said.
Douglas suggests people who have problems with binge eating as well as people who have bulimia try intuitive eating because it gives them freedom to choose what they eat and when they eat it. Douglas said she gives students individual meal plans and healthy food options but also talks to them about the foods they are afraid to eat.
“It’s basically legalizing foods they would normally restrict as long as they keep in their calorie range,” Douglas said. “It’s mentally healthier to fit in our favorite foods.”
Though some college students such as those in the BYU study were able to balance an intuitive eating lifestyle with busy extracurricular and college schedules, some University students said they have to coordinate their meals around their strict schedules.
Kacie Hampton, sociology freshman eating at Highland Dining Hall on Tuesday, said her eating schedule depends on her class schedule.
“I eat around my classes,” Hampton said. “It’s hard to diet because of the stress. I’m up a lot later, so I eat a lot later. I’m also not able to cook my own food.”
Hampton said because so many people are on diets, the intuitive eating approach is good for regulating eating.
“I think it’s something people need to be reminded of,” Hampton said.