Obesity management dieting principle

How fat deposited


Obesity is the result of overeating and physical inactivity. The unutilized calories are converted into fat and deposited in the fat depots of the body located in the abdomen and under the skin. The result of this is bulging abdomen and bloated body. Being ready sources of energy, fats and sugar are quickly converted into body fat in the event of their non-utilization.

Principles of dieting


While it is important to lower the total calorie intake, most of this reduction should be from the sugar and fats, i.e. sweets, sweet dishes, ice creams, ghee, butter and edible oils, as well as red meat and egg yolk. All fried food and junk food are therefore prohibited.

If you take non-vegetarian diet, change over to partial vegetarianism, so that you are taking animal food no more than l/3rd of plant food. Changeover should be gradual, because too much fiber too soon may produce abdominal discomfort. Increase the consumption of high fiber foods such as grains and beans gradually, especially in the evenings.


Do not skip meals; 'No fast and No feast' is the best policy.

Ensure variety of foods. It keeps the diet well balanced.

Remain physically active and exercise regularly.

Exercise burns calories by stimulating metabolism and the effect continues for many hours after exercise. It builds muscles too and will compensate for any muscle loss that may occur as a result of dieting.

Aim to reduce 1-2 kg per month. Do not take crash diets or hasten the process of weight reduction; it is unhealthy.

Weight once lost should not be regained. Going down the weighing scale and then up leads to more fat accumulation at the expense of muscle.


Achieve Satiety without Overeating

*No dieting is possible on a hungry stomach; you have to fill the stomach in such a way that you eat fewer calories.

*Eat plenty of raw vegetables, salads and fruit; they provide bulk, vitamins and minerals but they are low in calories.

*Drink plenty of water or diluted unsweetened buttermilk (lassi) before and during meals.



Change the style of eating:


Eat slowly and chew well; it takes 20 minutes to achieve
satiety; if you eat fast, you will eat more. Take low-fat snacks between meals, such as fresh fruits, popcorn, chana, unsweetened biscuits, etc.; they prevent overeating at regular meals. Do not fast if it leads to overeating next day.

Do not deny yourself your favorite food completely, because they are fattening; occasionally indulge yourself. This will help you to stick to your dieting routine better.


Steps to be taken at childhood to prevent obesity:


It is now known that giving children cow's (or formula) milk in the first year of life increases the size and number of fat cells in the body. This results in obesity in adult life which becomes difficult to shed. Children should be given breast milk in the first year, adding fresh vegetables and fruits, but minimum of sugar, sweets and fat, at the appropriate time.

This article is also published in India Study Channel

Dietary Guideline

1. A nutritionally adequate diet should be consumed through a wise choice from a variety of foods.

2. Additional food and extra care be required during pregnancy and lactation.

3. Exclusive breast-feeding should be practiced for upto 6 months. Breast-feeding can be continued upto two years.

4. Food supplements should be introduced to infants after 6 months.

5. Adequate and appropriate diet should be taken by children and adolescents, both in health and disease.

6. Green leafy vegetables, other vegetables and fruits should be used in plenty.

7. Cooking oils and animal foods should be used in moderation, and vanaspati/ghee/butter should be used only sparingly.

8. Over-eating should be avoided to prevent over-weight and obesity. Proper physical activity is essential to maintain desirable body weight.

9. Salt should be used in moderation.

10. Foods consumed should be safe and clean.

11. Healthy and positive food concepts and cooking practices should be adopted.

12. Water should be taken in adequate amounts and beverages should be consumed in moderation.

13. Processed and ready-to-eat foods should be used judiciously. Sugar should be used sparingly.

14. The elderly should eat a nutrient-rich diet to keep fit and active.

Clues to control obesity

Obesity is an epidemic disease worldwide. These two term disease and epidemic was never related to obesity earlier. WHO formally accepted the fact in 1997. 11 years passed but the uptrend is continuing.

Health Risks Of Obesity:

The list is really long. Obesity affects every aspects of the body and is one of the major cause of premature death. Here is the list of few conditions related to obesity:

• Low self esteem
• Depression
• Diabetes and its consequences
• Hyperlipidimia (Raised cholesterol and triglycerides) with their complications.
• Hypertension and related consequences.
• Gall stones.
• Cancers particularly breast, endometrium, colon
• Poly cystic Ovarian Disease (PCOD)
• Infertility
• Low back pain
• Sleep apnoea
• Skin problems

let us consider What is weight?

Our body is made up of bones, muscles, fat and water. The lean body mass is the weight of us without the fat and it should be constitute 80 to 85% of our total weight. That means if we want to shed weight we have to shed fat and not the lean body mass.

The two areas where fat tend to accumulate initially are abdomen ( pot belly) in men and around hip, buttocks and thighs of women. The abdominal fat increases the risk of diabetes and hypertension significantly. men can lose weight easily than women; on the other hand they are at greater trouble due to the location of the fat!

How to obtain healthy weight?


Please don't go for any advertised gimmicks - the logic is simple! If your earning is more than you spend your bank balance will grow! so is your fat. There are no other way to obtain healthy weight except healthy diet and regular exercise.

Here are some clues:

• Eat consciously and know what you are eating. Always take food which has some nutritional value in addition to the energy you need. For example avoid simple carbohydrates and rely on the complex one.
• Plan low calorie diet ( 1000 - 1500 Kcal) and the diet should be high in proteins, fibres and low in fat.
• Have regularity in food intake. regular meals keep your blood sugar steady. So you will feel less hungry and less craved for food.
• Please don't skip your meals. Your next meal will tend to store as fat if you do so. Never skip breakfast, which I have seen most of the people do! Eat accordingly as you are spending energy. We spend most of our work before lunch, so breakfast must be heavy and with ample protein. Dinner should be lighter on the other hand. Mostly people do the reverse!
• Try eating five servings of fruits and vegetables daily. They will provide you minerals, fibres, vitamins and phytonutrients.
• Protein should be adequate in your daily food. The requirement of protein for normal individual is 1 gm/ Kg of body weight. In pregnancy, lactation and in children it is 1.5 gm / Kg. Animal source contain on an average 20 - 25% protein of their weight. For example from 100 gm of fish you will get 20 - 25 gm of protein. Give preference to fish over other source while choosing animal source. Soya and grains are excellent source. Soya is the richest source of vegetable protein. I will write about soya in a separate post.
• While choosing dairy products , choose low fat varieties like skimmed milk, yogurt.
• Choose snacks carefully, while you feel hungry between meals. Rely on dry fruits, nuts, salads than chips, burgers, and pastries.
• Reduce the intake of stimulating foods and drinks like chocolate, tea, coffee and alcohol. They stimulate insulin secretion and insulin deposit fat.
• Alcohol in moderation is healthy. Please stress on the word moderation. Red wine is best. Excess alcohol intake on the other hand is one of the major cause of obesity.
• Aerobic exercise at least 5 days a week is essential. Walk briskly, jog, run, swim do whatever you prefer but do it regularly. Lifting weight and gym will help you to increase the muscle mass and thereby your lean body mass will increase.
• Take a multivitamin daily, the cheapest health insurance.
  

Lastly, one must realize that, there is no shortcut in the process of losing weight. It has to be done gradually. Crash dieting should never be tried, as it may cause other grave complications.

The factors, which will help you to reduce your fat / weight are motivation, perseverance, commitment. You have to control your mind first to control your body.

Complex Carbohydrates

Complex carbohydrates are good sugar for our fuel. They are long complex chain of many simple sugars combined together. They break slowly in our body and releases sugar slowly according to our need. They don't produce surge of sugar in our body hence, no assault! These are the food with low glycemic index.

They contain fibers both soluble and insoluble which are very helpful for our normal bowel movements. Soluble fibers control cholesterol and help us to reduce the LDL ( the bad cholesterol) from our body.

These foods also are rich in vitamins and minerals, which are essential for our day to day need.

So it is always a good habit to have whole grain food as our staple diet. Beans are another good source of complex carbohydrates, releases energy slowly.

Simple Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates can be subdivided in two major categories: Simple and Complex.

Simple carbohydrates are simple sugar molecules which assimilates easily and very fast in our body and give us instant source of energy. They have high glycemic index, means they produce a surge of sugar in our blood stream. This sugar also used up rapidly from our blood. They contain least fibers. That's why they did not stay in our stomach long and don't satisfy our hunger.

The sudden rise of blood sugar is harmful for those having compromised pancreas. In other words who has predilection and has potential for diabetes will be harmed badly by the repeated assault of sugar to them. Established diabetics should avoid the high glycemic food totally, otherwise controlling them to euglycemic (normal blood sugar a pattern) is impossible.