Food And Health Connection:
Knowing what nutrients make up a well-balanced diet, where to find them, and how much to eat are some of the first steps toward good health. The greatest investments you can make in maintaining good health are to apply this knowledge by eating nutrient-rich foods and incorporating physical activity into your schedule at any stage of life. Although eating healthily may reduce your risk of certain diseases, no guarantee following that following the principles of good nutrition will prevent an illness from developing. Not all diseases or disorders are linked to what you eat, according to science. However, statistics show that lifelong food choices may influence the risk of certain diseases. Diet and nutrition continue to be evaluated and clarified in the promotion of health and the development of obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease, osteoporosis, cancer, and other illnesses. Many nutritional recommendations for disease prevention are similar. This chapter will teach you about specific conditions where nutrition plays an important role, as well as how proper nutrition can affect and even change the course of these conditions.
OBESITY:
Obesity would be less of a concern if it were only a matter of appearance. Obesity, on the other hand, is a medical problem. Diabetes, lipid abnormalities, coronary artery disease, hypertension, and certain cancers (such as breast, colon, and gallbladder in women and colon and prostate in men), stroke, degenerative arthritis, respiratory problems, sleep disturbances, and gallbladder disease are all associated with it. Obesity has a significant impact on society in terms of lost lives, ongoing illnesses, emotional pain, discrimination, and economic cost (nearly $100 billion per year). Being overweight has the most serious consequences in terms of lowering one's quality of life and shortening one's life span. The more overweight you are, the more likely you are to die young (when compared to the average age of death for all people in the population). Obesity-related diseases are the second leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States.
The Battle of the Bulge:
With so many diet programs and products promising to help you lose weight, losing weight should be simple. Most overweight problems are caused by simply eating too much and not exercising enough. But you also know how difficult it is to lose weight and even more difficult to keep it off. Overweight and obesity are caused by a chronic imbalance of calories consumed and calories burned. Obesity is also influenced by genetic and environmental factors. Americans spend over $33 billion on weight-loss products and services each year, but they are losing the "battle of the bulge." Despite their strong desire to lose weight, Americans have become more obese. Some have even declared that the United States is suffering from an "obesity epidemic." Being overweight is estimated to affect more than half of all adult Americans. Obesity is also becoming more prevalent in many other countries.
Clarify the Terminology:
The terms "overweight" and "obesity" are frequently used interchangeably, but they have different meanings. The term "overweight" refers to having excess body weight in comparison to the norm for a person's height, but it does not take into account what tissue is making up the weight. Athletes, for example, are frequently overweight according to weight-for-height tables due to increased muscle mass. However, for the majority of people, being overweight means having too much fat.
Obesity is defined as having more body fat than is healthy for an individual. An acceptable level of body fat in healthy women ranges from 25% to 35%. In men, an acceptable range of body fat is between 10% and 23%.
The Way Your Body Utilizes Food :
The number of calories consumed by a person is determined by three factors: basal metabolic rate, thermic effect of the food consumed, and calories consumed during physical activity. The amount of energy required to maintain bodily functions when an individual is at rest is referred to as the basal metabolic rate. In sedentary adults, this component accounts for 60 to 75 percent of daily calorie requirements. The amount of fat-free mass in the body is a major determinant of the basal metabolic rate. Muscle is a type of fat-free mass. Resistance (strength) training can increase muscle mass, which in turn raises the basal metabolic rate. Resistance training can also help to prevent the normal loss of lean mass that occurs with aging. Men have more muscle than women and thus burn more calories.
The energy required to digest, metabolize, and store nutrients is referred to as the thermic effect of food. Food's thermic effect accounts for about 10% of total daily calorie consumption. The amount of calories burned during exercise varies greatly depending on the amount of exercise performed. The activities of daily living (such as walking, talking, and sitting) account for 15 to 20% of daily calorie use in most so-called sedentary people.
Should You Try to Lose Weight:
What is the best way to tell if you're overweight or obese? Body composition can be measured using sophisticated tests developed by scientists. However, these are not required for the vast majority of people. You can keep track of how your weight changes over time. You can also calculate your body mass index (BMI) and see how it relates to health risks.
Identifying Your Risk:
Some risk factors indicate a proclivity for obesity. The following are some of the risk factors:
Body mass index (BMI)—BMI is calculated by dividing your weight in kg by your height squared (in meters). Even easier. The benefit of BMI over bathroom scales and weight-for-height tables is that it normalizes weight for height and assists in determining whether you have a healthy or unhealthy percentage of total body fat.
Competitive athletes and bodybuilders are examples of people who should not use BMI to determine health risks. Because they have more muscle, their BMI will be higher.BMI is also not a predictor of health risks in growing children, pregnant or lactating women, or frail, sedentary older adults.
A BMI of 19 to 24.9 is associated with a low to moderate risk of disease. Overweight is defined as a BMI of 25 to 29.9, and it is associated with moderate health risks. Obesity is defined as a BMI of 30 or higher, and it is associated with a significantly increased risk of developing various diseases. A BMI of more than 40 indicates extreme obesity. Body shape—As a potential indicator of health risk, the distribution of body fat has received increased attention. Excess abdominal fat is associated with an increased risk of developing a variety of metabolic illnesses, including diabetes mellitus, elevated blood lipid levels, and high blood pressure. In contrast, it has been linked to increased health risks, particularly if you have a BMI of 25 or higher.