The Role of Diet in Preventing Underweight, Overweight, and Obesity

In my last post, I discussed the digestive system and how the body requires sufficient intakes of the essential nutrients and energy.  However, when the body does not take in the same amount of energy as it uses, health problems can result.  Quite simply, the body should use the same amount of energy as it takes in, in order to maintain the same weight.  Variations in this will lead to a person being underweight, overweight, or obese, which is severely overweight.  Each condition can pose health problems and diet plays a large role in its prevention.  Although weight is an important attribute of determining what is healthy, the more important component is the amount of fat, or adipose tissue, one has in proportion to that of lean tissue.  This ration is indicative of your body composition, which is an amalgamation of your dietary and activity behaviors over an extended period of time (Sizer & Whitney, 2013).

Underweight

In the United States, the condition of underweight is not very prevalent, affecting less than 2 percent of the population.  However, those people that are underweight have increased risk of death in the hospital or fighting wasting diseases.  For instance, an underweight person lacks the fat reserves necessary to go for an extended period of time while waiting for tests in the hospital.  Moreover, this hinders their ability to fight diseases that consume large amounts of energy, such as cancer.  Thus, underweight people are encouraged to gain weight to a healthy level and build up fat reserves (Sizer & Whitney, 2013).

Consuming sufficient quantities of nutrients and energy, in a balanced way, can help people avoid becoming underweight.  In addition, this diet can aid underweight people in gaining the necessary weight and fat reserves.  Recommended techniques in helping underweight people gain weight are to eat more frequently, choose nutrient-dense foods and drinks, timing when drinks are consumed, snacking more often, adding extra components to meals, and engaging in strength-building exercises (Zeratsky, 2014).

Overweight and Obesity

Health professionals use a measurement known as the Body Mass Index, or BMI, to generally assess whether someone is of a healthy body weight.  The BMI represents a ratio between a person's height and weight.  As the BMI exceeds a value of 25, health risks begin to rise.  An overweight person is defined by having a BMI of 25 to 29.9.  Obesity is a form of extreme overweight, with a BMI of 30 or higher.  Significant health risks are associated with obesity.  In addition to the BMI, the waist circumference is also considered when evaluating the health of an individual.  In particular, large amounts of visceral fat, that which is located in the abdominal cavity, is associated with high health risks (Sizer & Whitney, 2013).  Thus, it is of utmost importance that overweight and obese people try to adjust their behaviors to reverse the situation as much as possible.  Much of this is done through exercise, but just as important is a person's diet.  Diet played a large role in making someone overweight or obese and it, therefore, must play a role in reversing it.  In America, the obesity rate has been on the rise for the past several decades.  Many consider the increased portion sizes and growth of processed foods to be major contributors (Sizer & Whitney, 2013).  Poor menu offerings in public schools have also been attributed to obesity, in that the children learn bad dietary habits from the very institutions that should be educating them (Lytton, 2010).  Illustrations depicting these correlations, and the increased consumption of food away from home, are presented below.

U.S. Obesity Chart (DietDatabase.com, 2014)

Fast Food Obesity Chart (FoodWallPaper, 2012)

Although similar, the diet considerations for reversing overweight and obesity conditions are not identical to preventing them in the first place.  The primary difference is in energy consumption and the setting of goals.  For people that are already overweight or obese, the goals for weight loss must be realistic and achievable.  For instance, the first goal may simply be to stop gaining weight.  Next, a realistic goal would be to lose 5 to 10 percent of body weight within the next year.  For overweight people, a reduction of 10 percent body weight has been shown to have significant health benefits.  An important dietary consideration for weight loss is to decide on the proper amount of energy intake.  As noted earlier, taking in less energy than is needed by the body is the only way to lose weight.  However, it is not recommended for a person to take extreme measures and cut out enormous amounts of calories immediately.  Instead, obese people should reduce caloric intake by 500 to 1,000 calories per day and overweight people should reduce caloric intake by 300 to 500 calories per day.  Such cuts allow for weight loss of 1 to 2 pounds per week and can do so in a healthy manner.  Cutting calories more drastically could result in loss of lean tissue and be detrimental to health.  Eating smaller, more frequent meals can also help by moderating the feeling of hunger (Sizer & Whitney, 2013).

The remainder of the diet considerations for losing weight or the prevention of becoming overweight are largely the same.  One of the most crucial tasks is to ensure the body is getting sufficient quantities of the nutrients it needs.  This is done by ensuring intakes are adequate, balanced, and consist of nutrient-dense foods.  Additional dietary steps include cutting back on saturated fats and identifying and eliminating foods that contain excessive and empty calories (Sizer & Whitney, 2013).

Conclusion

The dietary choices we make each day eventually add up and govern our body composition, made up of fat and lean tissue.  Choosing an appropriate diet can help prevent a person from becoming underweight or overweight to begin with, but it can also help people who are already in those conditions achieve better health.

References

DietDatabase.com. (2014). US Obesity Chart. Retrieved from DietDatabase.com: http://dietdatabase.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/us-obesity-chart.png

FoodWallPaper. (2012). Fast Food Obesity Chart. Retrieved from Food Wall Paper: http://foodwallpaper.info/fast-food-obesity-chart-2012/

Science In Everyday Terms. (2012). The Digestive System: How it Works! Retrieved from Science In Everyday Terms: http://scienceineverydayterms.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-digestive-system-how-it-works.html

Sizer, F., & Whitney, E. (2013). Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies (13th ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.

Zeratsky, K. (2014). Underweight? See how to add pounds healthfully. Retrieved from Mayo Clinic: http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/underweight/faq-20058429