Good News, Malaysians: A Study Says You Should Eat More Rice To Lose Weight

If there’s one thing that can unite us Malaysians, it’s always our love of food.

We’re lucky to live in a multi-racial country where we can enjoy a plethora of yummy food at any given time of the day.

And the mother of all food we can all agree that we can’t live without is – rice.

Some people may frown when they see your rice intake and ask you to cut down, but the next time it happens, you can tell them this: eating rice can help prevent obesity.

According to a study presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Glasgow recently, consumption of 50g rice per day per person could help reduce the worldwide obesity rate by one per cent (from 650 million adults to 643.5 million).

“The observed associations suggest that the obesity rate is low in countries that eat rice as a staple food,” said Prof Tomoko Imai, of Doshisha Women's College of Liberal Arts, Kyoto, who led the research.

“Therefore, a Japanese food or an Asian-food-style diet based on rice may help prevent obesity.”

“Given the rising levels of obesity worldwide, eating more rice should be recommended to protect against obesity even in Western countries.”

The study was conducted based on the daily rice consumption per person and calorie intake in 136 countries and also taking into account their body mass index (BMI).

The study concluded that the prevalence of obesity was significantly lower in countries with higher rice supply even after taking into account lifestyle and socioeconomic indicators.

This is possibly due to the fibre, nutrients, and plant compounds found in whole grains that may help increase feelings of fullness, thus preventing overeating.

However, we would like to stress that you should always eat moderately. Do not stuff yourself to the brim when you eat, if not there's no way you're going to lose weight.

So, Malaysians, what are you waiting for? Jom makan!