The draft report by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition says that the recommended daily intake could be upped by 16% and provides a much more accurate assessment of how energy can be burnt off through physical activity.
Now, to be fair, it is reported that the panel stresses that people should only eat more if they exercise more, given rising levels of obesity. You don’t say…………..

To be fair, there’s probably something in the way this is reported and the BBC article  didn’t provide a link to the actual report. 
If you’re really keen you can read the full report here.

We are served up so many conflicting “research” findings these days with regards to healthy eating and exercise that there comes a stage where we nearly switch off from these messages as we go into information overload. It can all seem so complicated and sometimes we can’t see the wood for the trees.

You could read this article and take various messages from it. If you want an excuse to stop exercising then you could maybe find it here. 

The question is – why do we exercise – what do we want to get out of it – is it simply a means to an end?

My brain is becoming so numbed by so many conflicting “health” messages that I need to simplify it down for myself or I’m in danger of going mad! For me the bottom line is still – moderation – cutting out food types completely, banning certain foods only leads to unhealthy obsessions. BUT if you eat more than you need you will not lose weight.  It’s as simple as that. And we need to move more as I think we often grossly over estimate how much movement we do in a day and how many calories we actually burn. Also using food as a reward is always a dangerous and slippery slope.

For me running is about so much more than weight loss (and a good job too!).  Running is about freedom, empowerment, relaxation, de-stressing, challenges, pushing limits, exploring new places…..

And yes I still want to lose weight – to do that I think I need to take my own simple advice – move more and eat less.

The problem appears to be based on the method used to calculate calories – burning small samples of food in controlled conditions and measuring the amount of energy released in the form of heat – whereas our bodies don’t incinerate food, they digest it and digestion – from chewing food to moving it through the gut and chemically breaking it down along the way – takes a different amount of energy for different foods.

Read the full article in the New Scientist