Archive for Obesity
Nutrition: best practices
Posted by: | CommentsHealthy eating, weight loss and IGF
Posted by: | CommentsWeight loss diets and macronutrient composition
Posted by: | CommentsFrom Medscape:
The quick summary: “Dieters ate different amounts of protein, fat, and carbohydrate — but, after 2 years, most were still obese.”
Here’s some more detail: “While weight-loss diets claim unique nutrient compositions that guarantee unusually rapid and effortless success, comparative studies — usually with small populations and short follow-ups — have yielded widely disparate results. Now, a large long-term multisite study suggests that all these diets result in similar outcomes.
Researchers randomized 811 overweight adults (81% white; 62% female; 69% college graduates; mean body-mass index, 33 kg/m2) to four restricted-calorie eating plans:
* High fat, high protein
* High fat, average protein
* Low fat, high protein
* Low fat, average protein
Carbohydrate intake ranged from 35% (in the first plan) to 65% (in the fourth) of total calories. All meals were prepared at home, and participants ate from a single menu with each dish’s components adjusted to reflect each diet’s emphasis; all participants were offered weight-loss counseling.
Changes in weight and waist circumference at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months were indistinguishable among groups: At 2 years, only about 15% of each group had lost at least 10% of body weight. Attendance at group counseling sessions strongly predicted successful weight loss. At 2 years, hunger and diet-satisfaction scores were all similar. Food diaries and urinary nitrogen analyses indicated that the actual nutrients consumed might have been more similar among groups than had been planned.”
I think that this situation is to be expected. Deprivation, as a general rule, is extremely hard to maintain over the long haul. It’s better to gradually change by learning how to eat plant-based, whole foods. Bottom line: its not the macro-nutrient balance that counts. It’s the micro-nutrients (and of course physical activity) that ultimately determine health and fitness.
Obesity and social norms
Posted by: | CommentsIt has become more socially acceptable to carry a few extra pounds, as American women continue to become more overweight. According to a study published in Economic Inquiry, the “social multiplier” theory offers an explanation: As Americans continue to eat more calories and increase their average weight, people slowly adjust their perceptions of what “normal” is.
The study looked at body weights among American women in the 30- to 60-year-old age bracket from 1976 to 2000. The data showed that the weight of the average woman increased by 20 pounds, or 13.5 percent, during that period. The increase in the most obese women (i.e., the 99th percentile) increased by 18.2 percent, from 258 to 305 pounds. By 2004, 33.2 percent of American women over age 20 were classified as obese.
The researchers also looked at self-reports of women’s real weights versus desired weights. In 1994, the average woman said she weighed 147 pounds but wanted to weigh 132 pounds. By 2002, the average woman self-reported at 153 pounds, wanting to be at 135 pounds. This indicates that there is less social pressure to lose weight. Interestingly, a previous study reports that 87 percent of Americans, including 48 percent of obese people, believe that their body weight falls in the “socially acceptable” range.
