Diet Strategies 1

DIET STRATEGIES FOR OVERWEIGHT AND OBESE INDIVISUAL

Diet Strategies For Overweight And Obese Individual

Duchess Nash
Van Anh Nguyen
Suzanne T. Owen
Desiree L Phipps
Julia R. Sarron
Mary Ann C Simbulan
Sean Singh
Kelsi Thompson
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Abstract

With over half of our nation’s adults overweight and many more concern about

their weight, the market for a weight-loss book, product, or diet program. America spends

an estimated $33 billion a year on weight-loss books and products. Even a plan that offers

only minimal weight-loss success easily attracts a following.

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Q: 1. Losing 45 pounds in 10 weeks is not realistic. A more appropriate goal would be to

lose 10% of their body weight in 6 months, 24 weeks. How much should Jim aim to lose?

Losing 45 pounds in 10 weeks is not realistic or even healthy for anyone.

Changing your eating habits is a start to healthy weight loss. The appropriate thing to do

is be to eat non- processed foods and to stay away from fatty foods. Those foods are

made to keep people fat and wanting more of them. This is one of the reasons America

has the highest obesity rates in the world. The best foods to eat are fruits and vegetables,

a person should consume 3 servings of fruits and 5 serving of vegetables daily.

Additionally, whole grain is an excellent source of fiber that will help with proper

elimination. Stay away from starchy foods, and, if you cook with oil, use olive oil. Fish

or lean turkeys are good sources of protein. In addition to food intake, a fitness schedule

of ½ hour of cardio 3 times a week will help with weight loss. Do something you enjoy,

like walking or running, instead of sitting down and watching TV. Call a friend you enjoy

talking with and invite him or her for a walk in the park. As long as you stick with

simple schedules, you should loose a healthy weight of 1-2 pounds a week.

You need a sensible plan and a realistic approach to how you’re going to lose

weight. A realistic weight loss would be at least 1 to 2 lb per week. If you want to push it

to 3 lb a week, you should have a sensible diet and exercise. However before you get

started you should see your doctor and find out what’s a good weight for you, how many

calories you need to consume to achieve your weight goals, and how you can lose the
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weight and build muscles at the same time. Seeing your doctor can be very educational;

he or she can show you how to calculate your body mass index and let you know how

your body type affects your weight loss.

Q:2. How much weight should Mickey aim to lose?

Since Mickey’s BMI is 25, which suggested that he is overweight for his height.

So to get to the healthy weight, Mickey should weight around 132 – 167 lbs (losing about

21-56 lbs). According to the text book, the safe rate for weight loss is to lose 10% body

weight per six months, which mean Mickey should lose about 19 lbs every six month. To

archive this goal, Mickey should follow these recommended energy intakes. He should

consume approximately 300 to 500 kcalories per day less than usual intake; 30% or less

of total fat from total kcalories; 300 mg or less of cholesterol per day; 15% of protein

from total kcalories; 55 % or more of carbohydrate from total calories; consume no more

than 6 g of salt per day; consume 1000 to 1500 mg of calcium per day; and 20 to 30 g of

fiber per day. In addition to limited on the energy intake, Mickey should also increase his

daily physical activity so that the energy that he spends is more than the energy that he

consumes from food.

Q: 3. As children Mickey and Jim did not eat any differently from other

children but gained more weight. Why is this?

The case study indicates that both Jim and Mickey ate foods

similar to the other neighborhood children. These foods seemed to be

high in both fat and simple carbohydrates. Despite the similar diet,

they seemed to gain weight more easily than their peers. This could

be attributed to several causes.

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One reason could be genetics. There has been significant research

suggesting that there is a strong causal link between obesity and

family history. Specifically, studies of adopted children have shown

that they have a similar body mass as that of their biological parents.

Since they have a family history of obesity, genetics can certain be a

cause.

Another, more obvious connection, could be diet and exercise.

The case study indicates that Jim and Mickey both enjoy a diet lacking

in fresh fruit/veggies and whole foods. This alone can contribute to an

increase in body fat. The diet coupled with a lack of physical activity,

would definitely lead to obesity.

Lastly, the study states that they have a life-long habit of eating

cookies and milk before bedtime. Eating foods high in sugar without

the corresponding energy expenditure leads to an out of whack energy

balance. The excess sugar is most likely being stored as glycogen or

body fat.

Q: 4. While growing, Mickey and Jim were overweight. How could this affect their

current weights?

Mickey and Jim being overweight while they are growing could affect their

current weight through the number and size of the fat cells, their eating habits, and the

limitations of their physical activities.

Since Mickey and Jim were already overweight during childhood, this means that

the number and size of fat cells in their bodies are already increasing and higher than
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normal people. According to the textbook on chapter 9 in page 282, “the number of fat

cells increases most rapidly during the growing years of late childhood and early puberty.

After growth ceases, fat cell number may continue to increase whenever energy balance

is positive. When energy intake exceeds expenditure, the fat cells accumulate

triglycerides and expand in size. When the cells enlarge they stimulate cell proliferation

so that their numbers increase again. When energy out exceeds energy in, the size of fat

cells dwindles, but not their number.” Thus, as Mickey and Jim continue with the same

eating habit as they growing up – consume food that is high in fat such as cookies, bacons

and eggs, ham and cheese, and so on - which provided more energy than their body

needed. Because of this, the size and the number of the fat cells continue to increase; thus

they continue to be overweight. Even though Mickey does exercise on Saturday for 3

hours, which make the fat cells dwindles a little. However, he then fill the fat cells right

back with a burger, French fries, and a beer that he consume after he exercised. Thus,

even exercising every Saturday, Mickey still is overweight because the amount of energy

that he consumed is still more than his energy expense. With Jim, he does not exercise at

all, and the high-calorie food he consumed that causes extra energy is always available.

This extra energy just gives the number and size of fat cells the opportunity to continue to

increase. Because of this, Jim will continue to be overweight.

Q: 5. At first, both brothers set unrealistic goals, something that often leads to yo-yo

dieting. Explain why yo-yo dieting is detrimental to health.

Weight cycling a.k.a “yo-yo” dieting is more of a temporary weight loss. The

person changes his/her diet extremely and suddenly or even “starving” one, which may

also include a sudden increase in activity (exercise). After reaching the desired weight,
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the person would decrease activity level and revert back to the old diet, either because

they have just gotten tired of pushing their body so hard, or just sick of eating the

“healthy food.” For whatever reason, weight cycling is detrimental to health, studies have

shown that it can lead hypertension (high blood pressure), high cholesterol, and

gallbladder disease. It has been established that a diet that promotes more than a two-

pound per week weight loss will break down muscle tissue for energy at a more rapid rate

than it will break down fat stores for energy. Essentially, yo-yo dieting will actually

deplete your muscle more than the fat. However, losing weight slowly will used less lean

muscle tissue for energy and burn the fat stores for energy, which is the goal of losing

weight…to lose the fat!

Q: 6. Jim did not want to waste his time with conventional weight loss methods and

immediately considers surgery. Calculate both Jim and Mickey's BMI.

The Body Mass Index, or BMI, is an index of a person’s weight in relation to that

person’s height. It is calculated by dividing weight, expressed in kilograms, by the

square of height, expressed in meters:

weight (kg ) weight (lb ) x703

BMI = or
height (m) 2 height (in ) 2

A healthy weight is defined as a weight that results in a BMI between 18.5 and

24.9. A person is considered underweight if his or her BMI is below 18.5, overweight if

his or her BMI is above 25, obese if his or her BMI is above 30 and extremely obese if
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his or her BMI is above 40. The recommendation of overweight people seeking to lose

weight is to target achieving a BMI 2 units below their current level.

BMI is an inexpensive and easy to use method for identifying potential health

problems related to weight; for example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

use BMI for population assessment of overweight and obesity. BMI has some

limitations, however. For example, BMI does not reflect body composition. Accordingly

a very muscular person may have a BMI over the “healthy weight” index, but not, in fact,

be overweight. In addition, people of different ethnic backgrounds tend to have a

different “normal” body composition. For example, black people generally have a

greater bone density and protein content than people of other races; the BMI standards

may, therefore, overestimate the level of obesity in this population. For children and

teens, BMI is calculated using the same formula, but there are age and sex specific

criteria for interpreting the numbers since the amount of body fat changes with age and is

different for boys and girls.

BMI is only one measure with respect to evaluating a person’s risk for developing

diseases for which weight is considered a risk factor, such as hypertension, stroke, type 2

diabetes and heart disease. An individual’s waist circumference and level of physical

activity, together with the existence of other risk factors such as smoking, need to be

taken into account when assessing the likelihood of developing these types of diseases.

The calculation of Jim’s and Mickey’s BMI is as follows:

Mickey’s BMI = (188 x 703) ÷ 702 = 132,164 ÷ 4900 = 26.97 = 27

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Jim’s BMI = (338 x 703) ÷ 722 = 237,614 ÷ 5184 = 45.84 = 46

Q: 7. Based on your calculation of Jim's BMI and Mickey's BMI, why is Jim a more

suitable candidate for this procedure than Mickey?

Surgical stapling is reserved for people who are unable to achieve or maintain a

healthy weight through diet and exercise. In order for any bariatric surgery to be an

option, such as surgical stapling of the stomach, there are three main conditions an obese

person needs to meet. The first is that a person has to have tried diet and exercise without

success, they have to remain obese with a BMI over 35 and have weight related health

problems. In order to find out the degree of obesity and risk of disease of an individual

they need to be evaluated by a bariatric surgeon.

In comparing Mickey’s BMI of 27 and Jim’s BMI of 45.8, they both fall out of

the category of being in the healthy weight range between 18.5 and 24.9. According to

the standard BMI guidelines, Mickey’s BMI falls in the category that is considered to be

overweight since it exceeds 25 BMI. Anything above 30 is categorized as obese which

means that Jim falls into this category. With the information that is provided, Jim is more

suitable for surgical stapling since he fits the criteria of having a BMI over 35. Evidence

suggests that when a person’s reaches beyond 25 BMI they begin to obtain obesity-

related diseases. Jim would have to be evaluated for any of the related diseases and since

we know that Hypertension runs in their family, it’s a good chance that he may have it.

Mickey’s situation is not as severe as his brother Jim. He cannot be a candidate

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for the surgery since he does not meet any of the requirements for surgery. He is overall

more active and also has the determination to change his diet and work with a physician.

Jim is a more suitable candidate since he meets at least one of the major requirements. It

is still best that he tries changing his diet and exercise before he decides to do bariatric

surgery. Surgery can have severe complications and thus each case should meet certain

conditions before being a candidate.

Q: 8. Do you think surgery is a wise choice for either of the brothers? Why or why not?

Out of the two brothers, Jim is more in need of the surgery than Mickey is. The

three criteria for surgery listed in the text are that the person has “tried diet and exercise

programs without success, remain obese (BMI > 35) and have weight-related health

problems” (Whitney 292). Jim’s BMI is 45.8 compared to Mickey’s, which is 26.9 so for

Mickey, the best option is to keep attempting the diet and weight-loss program he started,

maybe with the help of a trainer or a nutrition expert.

The answer for Jim is not quite as simple. His BMI does fall into the category for

needing surgery because it is over 35. However, there are other factors that need to be

taken into consideration. The first requirement listed in the book for surgery is that the

person must “have tried diet and exercise programs without success” (Whitney 292). Jim

did not try diet or exercise before jumping to the conclusion that he needed to see a

doctor for surgery. Although hypertension and weight problems seem to be hereditary in

Jim and Mickey’s family, skipping right to surgery is not the best option for anyone.

Without first changing lifestyle, the surgery would not be effective and would have a

high risk of regaining the weight. According to webmd.com, “after 10 years, only 1 in 5

people have kept the weight off.” The third consideration for surgery is that the patient
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must “have weight-related health problems” (Whitney 292). Although hypertension runs

in the family, he does not currently have any weight-related health problems.

Surgery may definitely be something that Jim should keep in mind for the future,

but based on the criteria in the book and on webmd.com, he is not at a point where it’s

necessary. Many doctors may not even consider him for the surgery unless he was not

able to lose weight other ways. Although simply changing his lifestyle to include eating

right and exercising may not be enough for him to lose the weight he wants, it’s by far

the best option for him right now. Surgery should not be considered a “quick fix”

because it is only as effective as the patient makes it. By not changing his lifestyle first,

he would greatly increase the chances of regaining the weight that he lost through the

surgery.

References

“Body Mass Index.” Center for Disease Control and Prevention. 27 January 2009

<http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/>

Ellie, Whitney and Sharon Rolfes. Understanding Nutrition 11th ed. California:

Wadsworth, 2008. Chapter 8 ,9

Goodwin, Kathleen. “Yo-Yo Dieting: Break the Yo-Yo Diet Cycle.” The Diet Channel.
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26 Sept. 2006 <http://www.thedietchannel.com/Yo-Yo-Dieting-Break-the-Yo-

Yo-Diet-Cycle.html>

Hogan, Dan. "Diet and weight loss news." Science daily 29 Mar. 2009.

Rea, Caroline. "Restrictive operations: stomach stapling or gastric banding." WebMD.

27 March 2009<http://www.webmd.com/diet/weight-loss-surgery/restrictive-

operations-stomach-stapling-or-gastric-banding>

“Weight Loss.” Weight-Loss-Magazine. April 2009 <http://www.weight-loss-

magazine.com/pills.html>

“Yo-Yo Dieting” A Healthy Me. 31 Dec. 2001 <http://www.ahealthyme.com/topic/yoyo

dieting>