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WEIGHT MANAGEMENT
Why do you eat?
Other than feeling hungry, we eat for a variety of other reasons
such as:
- to compensate for unhappiness in other areas of our lives,
areas where we might not feel confident or which are causing
us unhappiness
- sometimes it can be easier to eat to smother the uncomfortable
feelings rather than deal with them
- because we just love food
- because we’re bored – in our work, in our relationships
- as a way of coping with stress
- as a reward
- because we’re frightened of not having enough e.g.
when food was rationed
- because of a nutritional imbalance
What puts on weight?
Being overweight can happen for a number of reasons other than
overeating including:
- food intolerances or allergies
- thyroid conditions
- water retention
- drugs which contribute to weight gain
- eating a diet high in saturated fats
- having more energy via food and drink going in than going
out in activity or exercise
- eating the wrong types of food
- age
- hormonal status
- a sluggish elimination system e.g. constipation
What can help us manage our weight?
- Valuing ourselves more
- A healthy eating plan
- Managing health problems naturally
- An activity programme
- Managing our stress better through learning coping strategies
- Learning to physically relax
- Learning to be assertive
- Becoming disciplined
- Enjoying looking after our body
- Being more creative with what we wear
- Improving our relationships
- Improving our work (paid or unpaid) situations
- Developing new interests
- Getting on with life
It is estimated that 30% to 40% of the difference in weight between
individuals is due to heredity. Heredity affects basal metabolic
rate, appetite and satiety (feeling full), body fat distribution,
and possibly the tendency to be active or inactive. Other factors
affecting weight include:
- Basal metabolic rate (BMR): BMR is the average daily amount
of energy needed by your body when it is at rest. The energy
measured
in your BMR is used to maintain body temperature and power
your heartbeat, breathing, and other organ functions. The average
person's
BMR accounts for about two-thirds of the energy he or she expends.
A lower BMR makes it easier to gain weight. A person's BMR
can change slightly in response to certain conditions. For example,
starvation or very low-calorie diets decrease a person's BMR.
Overeating
increases BMR, as does fever and severe physical stress, such
as recovery from surgery. The metabolic rate is the amount of
energy
liberated per unit of time. Our metabolic rate is represented
by the work we do, heat from body metabolism, and stored energy,
such
as in the form of fat. BMR is the metabolic rate determined
at rest 12-14 hours after the last meal. In healthy humans the
BMR
is approximately 2000 kcal/day (the metabolic rate is actually
lowest during sleep). The metabolic rate is affected by recent
food ingestion, muscle exertion, environmental temperature,
height, weight, body surface area, age, sex, emotional state,
body temperature,
pregnancy, menstruation, level of thyroid hormones, and "stress" hormones
(epinephrine and norepinephrine).
- Body signals: Hunger, satiety, and appetite are body signals that
tell you how much to eat. These signals can be influenced by
the environment or ignored for short periods of time. They are powerful
drives, and trying to ignore them for a long period of time
(as in dieting behaviour) can cause you to become obsessed with food.
Hunger, satiety, and appetite are body signals that tell you
how much to eat. Hunger is a normal sensation (stomach growling, feeling
hunger pangs) that makes you want to eat. It is partially controlled
by a region of your brain called the hypothalamus, your blood
sugar (glucose) level, how empty your stomach and intestines are, and
certain hormone levels in your body. Satiety is a feeling of
satisfaction and fullness. Stretch receptors in the stomach send signals to
the brain that the stomach is filled. Increased blood sugar
(glucose), the activity of the hypothalamus, and the presence of food in the
intestines all contribute to satiety. Appetite is a desire
for or an interest in food associated with the sight, smell, or thought
of food. Appetite can override hunger and satiety, such as
when you continue to eat a tasty dessert even after you feel full from
your meal. You can also have no appetite for food even though
you are hungry, such as in a stressful situation or during an illness.
- Set point: Your body tries to keep your weight within a specific
range, called your set point. Your body seems to regulate your
weight similar to the way it regulates your temperature, blood
pressure, and blood sugar (glucose) levels. Research has shown
that your body will waste calories if you overeat and conserve
calories if you undereat. Your set point range seems to be
influenced by your genetic makeup, but your actual weight within that range
is influenced by your lifestyle or environment. Your set point
adjusts to a new level when it is maintained over time and
can be altered by overeating, exercise, some medications, and some
brain conditions. There is also a psychological set point.
For example, people who are overweight and live with others who also
are overweight see themselves that way and are more likely
to accept additional weight gain.
- Fat distribution: Your weight distribution changes as you age.
Aging leads to replacement of lean muscle mass with fat. Men
store more fat in the abdomen as they age and women store more in the
hips and thighs as they age. Repeated weight loss and gain
can change the proportion of fat to lean tissue in your body and actually
increase your percentage of body fat.
Weight management and health
Obesity is not just a cosmetic problem. It's a health
hazard. Someone who is 40% overweight is twice as
likely to die
prematurely as
an average-weight person. This is because obesity
has been linked to several serious medical conditions including:
- osteoarthritis
- gout
- breathing problems, such as sleep apnea (when a person stops breathing
for a short time during sleep) and asthma heart
disease and stroke
- high blood pressure
- diabetes
- cancer
- gallbladder disease and gallstones
- heart disease and stroke
Doctors generally agree that the more obese a person is, the
more likely he or she is to
have health problems. People who are 20%
or more overweight can gain
significant health benefits from losing weight. Many obesity
experts believe
that people who are less than
20% above their healthy weight
should still try to lose weight if they have any of the following risk
factors:
- Family history of certain chronic diseases: People with close relatives
who have had heart disease
or diabetes are more likely to develop these problems if they are obese.
- Pre-existing medical conditions: High blood pressure, high cholesterol
levels, or high blood sugar
levels are all warning signs of some obesity-associated diseases.
- "Apple" shape: People whose weight is concentrated around
their stomachs may be at greater risk of developing heart disease,
diabetes, or cancer than people of the same weight who are "pear-shaped" (they
carry their weight in their
hips and buttocks).
Fortunately, even a modest
weight loss of 10 to
20 pounds can bring
significant
health
improvements,
such as lowering
one's
blood
pressure and cholesterol
levels.
Before you start making
changes, find out
where you are with
regard to your
weight,
your relationship
with food
and
eating habits,
your fitness level,
and your self-esteem
and body
image. Even if you
are within your healthy
weight
range,
you may still need
to make changes in
your
body image, diet,
or activity level
to
stay healthy. It’s
impossible to measure
fat directly. Two
ways to measure where
you store body fat
are waist
circumference and
waist-to-hip ratio.
Waist circumference
Waist circumference
is an indirect
indicator of
intra-abdominal fat tissue, often
called visceral
fat. Waist
circumference is preferred
over waist-to-hip ratio
for estimating
abdominal fat.
A high waist
circumference
is associated with
an
increased risk
for type 2
diabetes, high
cholesterol,
high blood
pressure, and
cardiovascular disease
because of
excess abdominal fat.
To measure
your waist
circumference,
place a tape
measure around
your body
at the level
of the uppermost
part of your
hipbone. This is usually
at the level
of your navel. You
are
at increased
risk for
health
problems
if:
You are a man
and your
waist measurement
is
greater than
40 in. (101.6
cm).
You are a
woman and
your waist
measurement
is
greater than
35 in. (88.9
cm).
This assessment
should
not be used for
people
with a
body mass
index
(BMI) greater
than
35, because
they already
exceed
these cut-off points. Waist-to-hip ratio
Your health is affected not only by how much body fat you
have, but also by where most of the fat is located on your
body. People
who tend to gain weight mostly in their hips and buttocks have
roughly "pear-shaped" figures, while people who tend
to gain weight mostly in the abdomen have more of an "apple" shape.
The waist-hip-ratio calculates the relation between hip and waist
circumference and tells you if you are rather an "apple" or "pear" type. The apple type: The apple type has normal shoulders and gains
weight in the stomach region.
The pear type: has narrow shoulders and is relatively thin around
the chest. The waist is normal. The pear type gains weight at the
waist and upper thighs.
Women tend to be the pear type while men tend to be the apple
type. Research shows that carrying fat around the middle, or having
an apple-shaped physique, increases the risk of heart disease,
high blood pressure, stroke, and diabetes whereas the pear type
is less likely to get heart or circulatory diseases. Carrying fat
in the hips and thighs, or having a pear shape, is not as harmful
to your health
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