Nutrition Tips and Advice
Nutrition is defined as: “The process of nourishing or being nourished, especially the process by which a living organism assimilates food and uses it for growth and for replacement of tissues.” Providing your body with a healthy balance of protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals is essential to both mental and physical development and sustainable growth. Yet millions of Americans suffer from nutrition-related illnesses including: Obesity, Anorexia, Bulimia and Binge Eating.
Poor nutrition as related to obesity or malnourishment is caused by several factors including:
- Not eating right—Maintaining an unbalanced diet.
- Lack of exercise—Not getting enough physical activity.
- Environment—What people around you are doing, weather, accessibility of exercising options, societal and or peer pressures.
- Genetics—The role genes have in making a person more or less prone to obesity.
- Illness—Many disorders like Anorexia, Bulimia and depression result in malnutrition.
Symptoms of malnutrition and over-nutrition include:
- Fatigue and low energy
- Irritability
- Dizziness
- Poor immune function
- Dry or flakey skin
- Swollen and bleeding gums
- Decaying or weak teeth
- Underweight
- Overweight
- Poor growth
- Muscle weakness
- Osteoporosis
- Problems with organ function
- Cardiovascular problems
- Gynecological problems
- Heart disease
- Sleep apnea
- Respiratory problems
According to a UC Berkeley report, the key to a well-balanced diet is one that includes:
- Plenty of high-fiber foods found in fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains. These types of foods should supply the 20 to 30 grams of dietary fiber you need each day. These types of foods also provide important vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals (plant chemicals essential to good health).
- Green, orange, and yellow fruits and vegetables like broccoli, carrots, cantaloupe, and citrus fruits. These fruits and vegetables are high in antioxidants and other nutrients that may protect against developing certain types of cancer and other diseases. A healthy diet includes at least five servings a day.
- A limit on sugary foods, refined-grain products such as white bread, processed foods, salty foods, foods high in additives and foods high in animal fat and trans fats.
- A healthy amount of fish and nuts that contain healthy unsaturated fats.
- Moderately portioned meals that are varied.
- Maintain adequate levels of calcium needed for strong bones and teeth. High calcium foods include yogurt, milk and cheese.
- If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation. (Approximately 1 drink a day for women and 2 a day for men.)
Despite all the studies and literature out there stressing the importance of a well-balanced diet, millions of Americans suffer from eating disorders including: obesity, anorexia, bulimia and binge-eating.
Obesity
Currently, an estimated two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese. The issue is so prevalent that First Lady Michelle Obama has made tackling childhood obesity her top priority. In an interview with Good Morning America, Michelle Obama expressed her deep concern about the rising numbers of childhood obesity in the U.S., citing that 1 in 3 children are overweight or obese in the U.S., and that the U.S. spends $150 billion annually treating obesity-related illnesses.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) measures overweight and obesity ranges by calculating the “Body Mass Index” (BMI), which typically correlate to levels of body fat in a person. BMI is measured by calculating weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared, rounded to the nearest tenth. According to the CDC, “overweight” is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 25.0 to 29.9, while “obesity” is defined as a BMI of 30.0 and above.
A recent CDC report found that between 2007 and 2008, the prevalence of obesity in adults was 32.2% among men and 35.5% among women.
To calculate your BMI click here
CDC research found that obesity in the United States exceeds 30% in most age and sex groups with the exception of men between the ages of 20 and 39. Obesity ranges also fluctuate based on racial and ethnic groups, with particularly high rates among black women.
Adult Obesity Rates and Obese and Overweight Children Rates
The health risks associated with obesity are many and can be fatal. Obesity can lead to major health consequences, including:
- Coronary heart disease
- Type 2 diabetes
- Cancer
- Stroke
- Liver and gallbladder disease
- Sleep apnea
- Respiratory problems
- Osteoarthritis
- Gynecological problems (abnormal menstrual cycles or infertility)
- Hypertension (high blood pressure
Losing weight takes a continued commitment to eating healthy, nutritional foods and getting enough exercise. FindTheBest has a Nutrition Facts App that breaks down nutritional information in thousands of foods, making it easy to track how much protein, fats, carbs and overall calories you have consumed in a given day.
To maintain your weight, the CDC recommends 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity (activities which cause your heart rate and breathing to moderately increase) or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity (activities which make your heart rate and breathing increase significantly) per week. FindTheBest’s Calories Burned App breaks down routine and physical activities based on the number of calories burned. To lose weight and maintain weight loss, there must be a balance between a high level of physical activity and a balanced diet high in protein and fiber and low in transfats.
While obesity is a serious illness plaguing millions of Americans, it is not the only nutrition-related disorder.
Anorexia
According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), an estimated 0.5 to 3.7 percent of females suffer from anorexia in their lifetime.
Symptoms of anorexia include:
- Resistance or fear of maintaining body weight at or above a minimally normal weight
- Deep fear of gaining weight even though underweight
- Extraordinary influence of body weight on self-evaluation and self-esteem
- Infrequent or absent menstrual periods
- Obsessed with body appearance and body weight
- Avoidance of food or eating food in very small quantities
- Distorted self-body image
Results of anorexia fluctuate across individuals but include:
- Recovery—some fully recover after a single shocking episode
- Fluctuating pattern of weight gain and relapse
- Chronically deteriorating course of Anorexia over a lifetime
- Death
According to NIMH, the mortality rate among people suffering from anorexia is approximately 0.56 percent per year, or approximately 5.6 percent per decade, which is reportedly 12 times higher than the annual death rate due to all causes of death among females ages 15-24 in the general population. Some of the most fatal causes of death associated with the disorder include: cardiac arrest, electrolyte imbalance, suicide and infection.
One such example was 21-year-old Brazilian model Ana Carolina Reston, who weighted just 88-pounds. The 5-foot-8-inch model died after suffering a generalized infection linked to her Anorexia. At the time of her death in November 2006, CBS reported that Reston had a BMI of 13.4 (18.5-24.9 is a normal BMI). In addition to Anorexia, Reston was also battling Bulimia.
Bulimia
People who are overly-obsessed with weight and body image deal with their unhealthy fixation in different ways. Bulimia is one such way people deal with fears of weight gain. An estimated 1.1 percent to 4.2 percent of females in the U.S. suffer from Bulimia in their lifetime.
Symptoms of bulimia nervosa include:
- Recurrent episodes of binge eating
- Lack of control and excessive eating followed by self-induced vomiting or misuse of laxatives, diuretics, enemas to eject the food from their bodies
- Fasting
- Excessive exercise
- Self-evaluation based on body weight and appearance
People suffering from Bulimia oftentimes go under the radar because oftentimes they weigh within the normal range for their age and height.
Binge Eating
According to the NIMH, community surveys estimate that between 2 percent and 5 percent of Americans experience binge-eating disorder in a 6-month period.
Symptoms of binge-eating disorder include:
- Recurrent episodes of binge eating/eating an excessive amount of food
- Lack of control over eating during the episode
- Eating much more rapidly than normal
- Eating until feeling uncomfortably full
- Consuming large amounts of food when not feeling physically hungry
- Eating alone because of being embarrassed by how much one is eating
- Depression and feelings of guilt after a binge eating episode
Binge eaters and people suffering from Bulimia experience many of the same symptoms but binge eaters tend to be overweight because they do not expel their food after an episode.
Nutrition Facts
As outlined above, nutrition plays a pivotal role in our lives and affects the way we look, feel, think and act. There are many resources on the Internet laying out healthy diets and low calorie recipes.
The following is a list of sites where you can find information on eating disorders, nutrition facts, healthy recipes and various ways to burn calories.
Helpful Links:
National Institute of Mental HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
US Department of Health & Human Services FindTheBest
WebMD UC Berkeley Wellness
Advertisement
