Foodies Tend To Be Healthier And More Adventurous, According To Study

Everyone has that "foodie" friend, the one who's known for her love of adventurous eats. She's the pal who always knows which restaurant to go to, the one who loved kimchi way before it was a thing and the type who insists on marvelling at the lobster roll before digging in.

Her Instagram is overflowing with delicious-looking foods like kaleidoscope-colored donuts and human-torso sized pizza slices and she has no problem planning day trips in search of deep-fried delicacies. Yes, foods like these can contribute to obesity and poor health, but a new study revealed a finding that is rather counter-intuitive: Adventurous eaters have a lower BMI and might be healthier than those less likely to eat outside of the box.

The Cornell Food and Brand Lab study, which was published in the journal Obesity, surveyed 501 U.S. women about their eating habits. Those who had eaten the most eclectic variety of foods, like kimchi, beef tongue and seitan, rated themselves as more physically active, interested in nutrition and healthier than those with non-adventurous diets. The braver eaters had lower BMIs and a greater love for cooking. "They also reported being much more likely to have friends over for dinner,” said the study's lead author, Dr. Lara Latimer.

"There's a real advantage of liking a wide variety of food and being adventurous," Dr. Brian Wansik, a co-author of the study and the director of Cornell's Food and Brand lab said in a video about the foodie findings. "If nothing else, you seem to have a lot more fun in life, and it might even get you a little healthier."

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