1. Factors Contributing To Excess Body Fat
Genetic Factors – 5-40% of population affected by genetic factors; affects body size and shape, distribution, and how easy it can be to gain or lose weight; genes are not destiny though; People have a tendency that is inherited, but expression of this tendency is influenced by environment. For example, just because both parents may be obese that does not mean the child automatically will be obese. It is the choices that are made that affect the weight, like eating choices or activity level
Physiological Factors
Metabolism (RMR) – resting metabolic rate – Definition – vital processes by which food energy and nutrients are made available to use by the body. Basically we are looking at how much energy or calories your body burns at rest. The higher your RMR, the more calories you burn at rest so you can consume more calories. Muscle mass proportion can affect RMR. People that have a higher portion of fat-free mass have a higher RMR because muscle is more metabolically active than fat. When people engage in low-carb diets they actually slow down there RMR because the body want to preserve the energy that it is losing by not having its #1 fuel source, which is carbs.
Lifestyle Factors
Eating
Physical Activity
Much research has been conducted in an effort to pinpoint the cause of being overweight and obese. It appears, however, that body weight and body composition are determined by multiple factors that may vary with each individual. Here are the major factors:
Genetic factors – Estimates of genetic contribution to obesity vary widely, from about 5% to 40%. More than 20 genes have been linked to obesity, but their actions are still under investigation. Research suggests a genetic component to the determination of body fat. However, hereditary influences must be balanced against the contribution of environment. Thus, the tendency to develop obesity may be inherited, but the expression of this tendency is affected by other factors. The message you should understand for research is that genes are not destiny. It is true that some people have a harder time losing weight and maintaining weight loss than others. However, with increased exercise and attention to diet, even those with a genetic tendency toward obesity can maintain a health body weight. And regardless of genetic factors, lifestyle choices remain the cornerstone of successful weight management.
Physiological factors – Metabolism is a key physiological factor in the regulation of body fat and body weight; hormones also play a role.

2. Adopting A Healthy Lifestyle For Successful Weight Management
Portion Control – Limiting your food intake to recommendations in the Food Guide Pyramid. This is easier than trying to count calories.
Diet and Eating Habits – Diet refers to the choices in food you eat. Dieting is the act of restricting food. Making changing in your diet versus dieting is the smarter choice. Try to develop a diet you enjoy and that helps your maintain a healthy body composition is key.
*Total Calories per day that should be consumed for each society group. Check were you stand:
1600 calories - Sedentary women and older adults
2200 calories - Children, teenage girls, active women, and sedentary men
2800 calories - Teenage boys, active men, and very active women.
When all the research has been assessed, it is clear that most weight problems are lifestyle problems. A good time to develop a lifestyle for successful weight management is during early adulthood, when healthy behavior patterns have a better chance of taking a firm hold. Permanent weight loss is not something you start and stop. You need to adopt healthy behaviors that you can maintain throughout your life. Lifestyle factors that are critical for successful long-term weight management include eating habits, level of physical activity, an ability to think positively and manage your emotions effectively and the coping strategies you use to deal with the stresses and challenges in your life.
Diet and eating habits – In contrast to “dieting,” which involves some form of food restriction, “diet” refers to your daily food choices. Everyone has a diet, but not everyone is dieting. You need to develop a diet that you enjoy and that enables you to maintain a healthy body composition. Use the Food Guide Pyramid as the basis for planning a healthy diet (see chapter 12). For weight management, you may need to pay special attention to total calories, portion sizes, energy density, fat and sugar intake and eating habits.

3. Physical Activity and Exercise
Muscles needing energy – Increasing your muscle tone keeps your metabolism high and gears the body for using calories as energy instead of storing them as fat.
Aerobic activity is best. It burns more of the fat, instead of just simple sugars.
Must last minutes.
Use all major muscle groups.
Gradually increase time of
endurance activities.
Physical activity and exercise – Regular physical activity is another important lifestyle factor in weight management. Physical activity and exercise burn calories and keep the metabolism geared to use food for energy instead of storing it as fat. Making significant cuts in food intake in order to lose weight is a difficult strategy to maintain. Increasing your physical activity is a much better approach. The message is clear. Regular exercise, maintained throughout life, makes weight management easier and improves quality of life.

4. Overcoming a Weight Problem
Avoid low-calorie diets
Initial weight loss from fluids, not body fat
Diet Books – Avoid them if they promote any of the following
Only promote a single food and/or foods high in one area and low in another.
Have the “secret” to success or have a scientific breakthrough
Use “gimmicks”, like matching food intake to blood type
Promotes quick weight loss or limits selections of foods
Diet Supplements and Diet Aids
Quick and easy path to weight loss, but dangerous. Not effective for long-term, healthy weight management
Subject to fewer regulation by the FDA than over-the-counter medications
More than 50% of the advertisements for supplements or aids are false
Examples, Ephedra, Metabolite, Hydroxicut, Trim Spa
Here are a variety of options available to you if you want to overcome a weight problem:
Doing it yourself – Research indicates that people are far more successful than was previously thought at losing weight and keeping it off. One study found that about 64% of the subjects achieved long-term success without joining a formal program or getting special help . Supporting these findings, U.S. Public Health Service survey indicated that about 50% of the general population succeed with long-term weight management. A key characteristic for success was making exercise a permanent part of their lifestyle. If you need to lose weight, focus on adopting the healthy lifestyle described throughout the book. The “right” weight for you will naturally develop, and you won’t have to diet. However, if you must diet, do so in combination with exercise, and avoid very-low-calorie diets. Don’t try to lose more than ½ -2 pounds per week. Realize that low-calorie diets cause a rapid loss of body water at first. When this phase passes, weight loss declines. As a result, dieters are often misled into believing that their efforts are not working. Then, they tend to give up.
Diet books – Many people who try to lose weight by themselves fall prey to one or more of the dozens of diet books on the market. Although a very few of these do contain useful advice and tips for motivation, most make empty promises. Beware of their claims. A recent crop of popular books has advocated diets high in protein, low in carbohydrates, and relatively high in fat. The American College of Sports Medicine, the American Dietetic Association, the Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research, and the Women’s Sports Foundation released a joint statement saying such diets are not a good weight-loss strategy, will not improve athletic performance, and can be harmful to your health in some cases. The only reason such plans help some people lose weight is that the diets they advocate provide so few calories; but as with all such plans, they are difficult to maintain over any extended period of time.
Dietary supplements and diet aids – The number of dietary supplements and other weight loss aids on the market has also increased in recent years. Promoted in a variety of media, these products typically promise a quick and easy path to weight loss. Most of these products are marketed as dietary supplements and so they are subject to fewer regulations than OTC medications. Be a wise consumer, think critically, and do your homework when considering using one of these products.

5. Overcoming a Weight Problem
Responsible and safe programs should provide:
Include components from all the food groups; Physical Activity and Exercise should be strongly encouraged
Promote slow, steady weight loss averaging about ½ - 2 pounds per week
Physician evaluation and monitoring should be recommended if losing more than 20 pounds, have health problems, or taking medication on a regular basis
Should include plans for weight maintenance after the weight-loss phase is over
Should provide fees and cost of program, as well as data on expected risk and outcomes

6. 1 Lb. Of Fat Is About 3,500 Calories.
Weight Loss
Most Experts Recommend a Gradual Weight Loss of ½ to 2 Pounds Per Week!!
1 Lb. Of Fat Is About 3,500 Calories.
How? Reduce Diet by 250 Calories/day and Expend 250 Additional Calories/day

7. Eating Disorders
Anorexia Nervosa - Failure to eat enough food to maintain a reasonable body weight.
Characteristics
Fear gaining weight.
Distorted self-image.
Compulsive behaviors and rituals.
Health Risks – stop menstruating, which drops estrogen levels and makes bone so brittle and fragile, becomes intolerant of cold and diseases, low blood pressure and heart rate, hair becomes thin and falls out, skin becomes severely dry, feet and hands swell, depression, and death
Anorexia nervosa – A person suffering from anorexia nervosa does not eat enough food to maintain a reasonable body weight. Anorexia affects 1-3 million Americans, 95% of them are females. Although it can occur later in life, anorexia typically develops between the ages of 12 and 18. People suffering from anorexia have an intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat. Their body image is distorted, so that even when emaciated, they think they are fat. People with anorexia may engage in compulsive behaviors or rituals that help keep them from eating and some binge and purge. Anorexic people are typically introverted, emotionally reserved, and socially insecure. They are often “model children” and are anxious to please others and win their approval. Anorexia nervosa has been linked to a variety of medical complications, including disorders of the cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and endocrine systems. Depression is also a serious risk, and about half the fatalities related to anorexia are suicides.

8. Eating Disorders
Bulimia Nervosa - recurring episodes of binge eating followed by purging (vomiting or misuse of laxatives, diuretics or exercise)
Characteristics
Rapidly consumes food, then purges.
Done in secret.
After a binge - feels ashamed, disgusted and physically and emotional drained.
Health Risks – erosion of tooth enamel due to prolonged contact with stomach acids through vomiting all the time, damage to liver and kidneys, esophagus bleeding, irregular heart rhythms, and rupture of stomach
Bulimia nervosa – A person suffering from bulimia nervosa engages in recurrent episodes of binge eating followed by purging. Bulimia is often difficult to recognize because sufferers conceal their eating habits and usually maintain a normal weight, although they may experience weight fluctuations of pounds. Although bulimia usually begins in adolescence or young adulthood, it has recently begun to emerge at increasingly younger (11-12 years) and older (40-60years) ages. During a binge, a bulimic person may rapidly consume anywhere from ,000 calories. This is followed by an attempt to get rid of the food by purging, usually by vomiting or using laxatives or diuretics. Some individuals only binge and purge occasionally, while others do so many times a day. The binge-purge cycle places a tremendous strain on the body and can have serious health effects including: liver, kidney, and intestinal tract damage, heart arrhythmia, and dental problems.

9. Eating Disorders
Binge-Eating - Similar to Bulimia except no Purging behavior.
Eating patterns - very rapid, eating until uncomfortably full.
Often eat as a way of coping.
Likely to be obese.
Binge-eating disorder – This disorder is characterized by uncontrollable eating, usually followed by feelings of guilt and shame and weight gain. Common eating patterns are eating more rapidly than normal, eating until uncomfortably full, eating when not hungry, and preferring to eat alone. Binge eaters may eat large amount of food throughout the day, with no planned mealtimes. Compulsive eaters rarely eat because of hunger. Instead, food is used as a means of coping with stress, conflict, and other difficult emotions or to provide solace and entertainment. Binge eaters are almost always obese, so they face all the health risks associated with obesity. In addition, binge eaters may have higher rates of depression and anxiety.

10. Treatment
Address both eating disorder, misuse of food and manage emotions
Anorexia Nervosa
Bulimia Nervosa
Binge-Eating
Today’s Challenge – being able to achieve a healthy body weight without excessive dieting and being able to adopt and maintain sensible eating habits, active lifestyle, realistic and positive attitudes
Treating eating disorders – The treatment of eating disorders must address both problematic eating behaviors and the misuse of food to manage stress and emotions. Treatment usually involves a combination of psychotherapy and medical management and may last from a few months to several years depending on the severity of the condition.