The secret to losing weight

Rotorua grandmother June Easton knows losing weight requires commitment, regular exercise and carefully watching her diet.

Her Gold's Health and Fitness weight-loss trainer Tania Nisbet is of the same mind.

The pair spoke to The Daily Post about an Otago research report which found middle-aged women who ate slowly were much less likely to be overweight than those who ate at a faster pace.

The study analysed the relationship between self-reported speed of eating and body mass index (BMI, a measure of obesity). Out of more than 1500 women aged between 40 and 50, the study found those with higher BMI were fast eaters.

The study doesn't necessarily prove eating faster causes obesity but researchers are doing further work to see if there is a causal link.

Mrs Easton and Ms Nisbet said the key to losing weight wasn't eating slow, it was about a whole lifestyle change.

Mrs Easton, who dropped 12kg on a Gold's weight loss challenge, put on 3kg recently after taking four weeks off from her daily gym programme. She said stress was why her weight increased - not "bolting" down her food.

"I only eat fast when I'm busy and rushing around to get things done. I generally gain weight when I'm stressed and I eat food I shouldn't be putting in my mouth."

She knows what to do to lose weight - change what she puts in her mouth, get regular exercise and surround herself with positive people.

"I was always running around after teenagers and I decided it was time to focus on me and get alongside positive people.

"I'm not just a mother, wife and grandmother - I have a life too."

Gold's fitness trainer Tania Nisbet said she wasn't so sure slow eating middle-aged women lost more weight than those who ate fast.

"I think it's quite bizarre ... It's just the older you get, the easier it is to gain weight - it's a totally different ball game at middle-age," she said.