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Weight Control

Your Weight

How much a person should weigh depends on many factors, including the size of his/her frame (small, average, large), sex, and height. There are no universally accepted definitions of the terms "overweight" and "obesity." Overweight is frequently defined as a body weight from 10 to 20 percent higher than the usual weight for persons of the same sex and height. Obesity is an excessive accumulation of body fat. It is best defined as a body weight that is 20 percent or more above the desirable weight for women of a specific height and type of frame, and 25 percent or more above the desirable weight for men. 

Daily Calorie Needs

A calorie is a unit used to express the heat or energy value of food. Calories are obtained from three sources:

     Carbohydrate yields 4 calories per gram.

     Protein yields 4 calories per gram.

     Fat yields 9 calories per gram.

A certain number of calories are required by the body for its day-to-day activities. The daily calorie need is the number of calories used by the body each day to maintain its present weight. The number of calories required by an individual depends upon that person's sex, size, age, and activity level.  

You can estimate the approximate number of calories you need each day by a simple formula. Take the midpoint of your desirable weight range, and multiply this figure by 18 for a man and by 16 for a woman. The answer is the approximate number of calories used daily by an adult of average activity. 

For example, the desirable weight for a 25-year-old, small-framed man 5 feet 9 inches tall is about 140 pounds. If his activities are average, he will use 140 x 18, or about 2,520, calories per day. 

If you are very active, your calorie needs will be much higher than predicted by the above formula. Similarly, if you are relatively inactive, you will need fewer calories. 

Basic Weight-Control Facts

The basics of weight control are simple: we can control the amount of food we eat, our activity level, or both. If we take in more calories than we expend in energy, we gain weight. People who weigh too much simply eat more calories than they use each day for growth or other activities. Leftover calories are stored as fat. On the other hand, if we expend more calories in energy than we eat, we lose weight. If we use up the same number of calories we take in, our weight remains unchanged. 

About 3,500 extra calories are required to produce a pound of body fat. This means that 3,500 fewer calories should get rid of a pound of body fat. Cutting 500 calories a day from your diet will generally lead to a safe and sensible weight loss of one pound a week and will not leave you so hungry that you can't think about anything but food. If you are severely overweight or have medical problems, have a doctor and/or a registered dietitian supervise your diet. 

If you don't want to decrease the amount of food you eat, then increase the number of calories you burn through more activity and exercise. Whether you wish to lose weight, gain weight, or simply maintain your current weight, exercise is beneficial. Even daily activities such as moderate walking, making beds, gardening, and carpentry can provide useful exercise. 

Planning a Day's Food

There are five basic food groups:

     Milk, yogurt, and cheese group.

     Meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs, and nuts group.

     Vegetable group.

     Fruit group.

     Bread, cereal, rice, and pasta group.

When you choose among various foods, keep in mind that some are more beneficial to your health than others. For example, skim milk is better for you than whole milk because it contains less fat and also has a slightly higher calcium content. 

Purchasing Food Wisely

New government legislation requires that labels on all food products contain specific information on dietary content. The guidelines cover nearly every health and nutrition claim that could be made by a food manufacturer, and detail what information food labels should contain, down to the size of the print. For example, food can be described as "light" or "lite" on the label only if it has 50 percent less fat than other foods to which it is compared. The word "more" can be used only if a food product contains 10 percent more of a given ingredient than other goods of the same type. 

The back panel of the label must tell you the number of grams of components,such as fat or cholesterol, a product contains, and also express that number as a percentage of the recommended total amount of fat or cholesterol the average consumer should eat in a day. Each label must list percentages of suggested fat and cholesterol daily intakes for both 2,000-calorie daily diets with 65 grams of fat and 2,500-calorie diets with 80 grams of fat.

The new labels also contain information on vitamins A and C, along with the minerals iron and calcium. Information regarding other vitamins and minerals, however, is no longer required. 

Eating Out

"Fast food" has become a national favorite. Fortunately, you can make healthful choices even when you go out to eat.  

In "sit-down" restaurants, the choice is a bit more difficult, because of the different types of menu items from which to select. In deciding what to order, try to pick the items that are lowest in grams of fat and milligrams of sodium.  

Suggestions for Those Who Want to Lose Weight

If you are trying to lose weight, here are a few helpful suggestions: 

1.   Record everything you eat, including snacks, so that you can keep track of your calories. 

2.   Don't eat while you are doing something else. In this way you can avoid eating when you are not actually hungry. 

3.   Sit down while eating. 

4.   Don't eat too fast. Give your body a chance to notice that it has had enough to eat.

 5.   Eat meals and snacks only in the parts of your home intended for eating. 

6.   Don't try to lose weight too fast. A sensible goal is one pound a week. 

7.   Don't try to lose too much weight. Be aware of the danger of anorexia nervosa. 

Suggestions for Those Who Want to Gain Weight

If you are very much underweight, you should see your doctor and/or a registered dietitian before starting any type of a diet. Choose familiar foods that appeal to you. If you prefer, eat regular meals at the same time each day. Instead, you may find that frequent, small meals or between-meal snacks along with regular meals work better for you. In any case, eat more of the higher calorie foods. Take larger portions of foods, and enjoy seconds (as long as you are hungry).