Spooky Jessica

Over drinks last night, Doctor Yowie first raised a toast to the Collins Street specialist who confirmed the Professor's robust good health, then wondered if there might not be some brain damage after all. It was mention of blonde sort-of economist Jessica Irvine (and several bottles of Tasmanian pinot noir) that prompted his sarcasm.

"What did they see in her at News Ltd!"

"You don't know her unique qualification?"

"Unqualified credulity?"

"Well, there's that, but I suspect having a dad who runs ASIO didn't hurt either"

Could this be true? If so, let us hope in the interests of the nation's security that Jessica is one piece of fruit who fell very far from David Irvine's tree

UPDATE: Nobody could claim Jessica a fit candidate for the intelligence business, so whoever hired her at News Ltd is stuck with his recruit until Col Allan pauses between mouthfuls of fairy penguin and roast infant to fire him. Jessica explains girlynomics:

5. What’s the most unusual problem you’ve ever solved with economics?
You’re talking about my weight loss articles, aren’t you? Through doing Bridges’ program last year I encountered the most magical of all statistics - more exciting that the budget balance, the jobless rate or foreign debt. It’s the figure for the calorie deficit you need to build over time to shed one kilogram of fat. The figures is about 7,500 calories - and is roughly the calorie content of one kilo of fat. Weight issues are all about the supply of calories to the body versus the demand the body has for them. Every day you need a certain amount of calories to carry out the body’s basic needs - growing eyelashes, keeping your heart beating and firing your muscles to brush your teeth.

For someone of my age height and weight it is around 1500 calories (you can find out your own ‘‘basal metabolic rate’’ from any number of online calculators including this). So every day you get to eat a certain amount of  without putting on weight (for me, 1500). If you eat more, the body stores the excess energy in fat cells. If you eat less energy than your body needs - either because you reduce your intake, increase your energy needs through exercise, or both - you lose weight. Once you build a cumulative calorie deficit of 7,500 calories, you will lose about one kilo of weight. BAM! Once you know this, you can make better decisions about what to eat and how much to exercise you need to do to keep you at the weight you’re happy with. It’s more accounting than economics, but it works.