Med diet, not calorie-counting 'best approach to health'

An opinion piece published in a UK medical journal advises doctors to promote eating a Mediterranean-style diet and stopping smoking to combat obesity, instead of calorie-counting or taking medicine.

The opinion piece published in the journal Open Heart warns that focussing on calorie counting is a misguided approach.

Cardiologist Dr Aseem Malhotra said: "If you have one sugary drink a day (with) 150 calories, that's strongly associated with increasing the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

"Whereas if you have a handful of nuts or four tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil a day which is around 500 calories, that significantly reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke."