Managing Your Weight

Calories  Calories are a unit to measure energy; measures calories in food and the energy that your body burns  How many calories do you need? Rate of growth Body size Gender Age

Weight Problems: Risky Business Body Fat vs. Body Weight  Overweight - weighing more than 10% over the standard weight for height  Obese - excess body fat, or adipose tissue Excess body fat increase the workload of the body frame, heart and lungs Hypertension Diabetes High Cholesterol Atherosclerosis  Sedentary Lifestyle  Poor food habits  Hereditary plays a role, however; the link between generations is unclear  Underweight - 10% or more below the normal weight Has little body fat as an energy reserve Less nutrients that the body stores Increase in health problems; harder to fight off infection

Diets and Eating Disorders  Diet - everything you eat and drink  Fad Diet - approach to weight control that is popular for a short time Ex. Grapefruit or the cabbage soup diets Limit certain nutrients and food variety  Weight Cycling - losing and regaining weight; much of the weight lost is water and not body fat Ex. Seesaw dieting or yo-yo dieting

Other Risky Weight Loss Strategies  Fasting - not replenishing the body’s nutrients can be dangerous. Without food, the body starts to use its own muscle tissue as an energy source.  Liquid Protein Diet - high protein, low carb liquid diets can have serious side effects; consult doctor before using this as your only form of weight loss.  Diet Pills - burn, block, or flush the fat; researchers have yet to find a pill that can do this safely. May help in suppressing energy, but can have other serious side effects.

Anorexia Nervosa  An eating disorder in which the irrational fear of becoming obese results in severe weight loss from self-induced starvation  A psychological disorder with both emotional and physical consequences  Relates to individuals self concept and coping abilities  Characterized by: Extremely low caloric intake Obsession with exercising Emotional problems Unnatural interest in food Unrealistic or distorted sense of body image Denial of an eating problem

Anorexia Nervosa  Most are in their teens or twenties  Not generally common among males, but can be at risk  Symptoms can include: Extreme weight loss Constipation Hormonal changes Heart damage, decreased heart rate Impaired immune function Menstrual cycle may cease due to low body fat Severe cases may cause death

Bulimia  An eating disorder in which cycles of overeating are followed by some form of purging or clearing of the digestive tract  Bulimics usually follow a restrictive diet, and then binge Quickly eats large amounts of food followed by self-induced vomiting or purging through abuse of laxatives  Trying to obtain the “perfect figure”  Often very secretive

Bulimia  Vomiting and diarrhea can lead to: Dehydration Kidney damage Irregular heartbeat Eroding tooth enamel and tooth decay Damages tissues in the stomach, esophagus, and mouth Nutrient deficiencies can occur from laxatives not allowing digestion or absorption Laxatives can also damage composition of blood