Now this is the kind of news we like to hear on a wet Tuesday morning.

Pasta is one of our great joys in life. A carbonara or bolognese will never go amiss and we'd happily live on the stuff for weeks on end. While many people have said that pasta is bad for you because of its calorific nature, a new study has found that it has actually been linked to weight loss. The new study, published in the journal BMJ Open, found that people lost about 1.1lb over 12 weeks if they ate pasta three times over seven days. The researchers found that eating pasta as opposed to other carbs is actually better for you as it avoids spikes in blood sugars. It also has a lower glycaemic index so it is absorbed into the bloodstream slower, and will make you fuller for longer. Lead researcher, Dr John Sievenpiper, from St Michael's Hospital in Toronto, said: "In weighing the evidence, we can now say with some confidence that pasta does not have an adverse effect on body weight outcomes when it is consumed as part of a healthy dietary pattern. "The study found that pasta didn't contribute to weight gain or increase in body fat. Contrary to concerns, perhaps pasta can be part of a healthy diet such as a low GI (Glycaemic index) diet." Pasta for lunch then?