Tips to Avoid Being Overweight

As you sit at the table feeling guilty about the extra piece of pie you just ate, you may ponder the question: what are my risks of becoming overweight or obese?

Analyzing data from the recent Framingham Heart Study, 4117 men and women from 1971-2001 were found to have a greater than 50 percent risk for becoming overweight and about 30 percent for becoming obese over a 30-year period.

Being concerned about obesity is not just a matter of watching your waist line or being able to fit into last year’s swim suit. A major risk factor for heart disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis, obstructive sleep apnea and other illnesses, obesity is now considered the number one health problem in the world, surpassing even AIDS and malnutrition. “It is proven that severe obesity can shorten a person’s life,” said Mathea Ford, RD/LD, clinical nutrition manager at OU MEDICAL CENTER in Oklahoma City. “And obesity is growing at alarming rates among children and adolescents as well as older adults.”

In the Framingham study, half of those who were normal weight at the beginning of the study became overweight or obese over the next 30 years. And those who were already overweight had an even higher likelihood of staying that way or becoming obese. Overall 75 percent of the women and 90 percent of the men were either overweight or obese at some time during the 30-year period.

Overweight was defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 25 to 29 and obese, a BMI of 30 or greater.

CUT THE CALORIES: If you’re thinking twice about the second piece of pie, you may have a step up on some Americans. If you don’t want to slip over the edge into overweight or obesity, there’s one very simple way: don’t eat as many calories.

“A recent book on Body Mass Index found that Americans with a BMI of 25 or greater ate an average of 100 calories more a day than normal-weight adults,” said Ford. “The extra piece of pie, incidentally, carries at least 300 calories.”

LESS FATTY FOODS: Adults who are overweight, according to Bowman, consume more total fat and more saturated fat major culprits in heart disease and diabetes as well as obesity. When they ate chicken, 60 percent were likely to eat fried rather than baked, broiled or stewed chicken as recommended by dietitians. And 60 percent preferred not to remove the fatty skin of the chicken as recommended.

MORE BREAKFAST, LESS DINNER: As many other studies have found, overweight persons were more likely to skip breakfast, or skimp on it, and eat a high percentage of their daily calories later in the day.MORE EXERCISE, LESS TV: Adults who watched more than two hours of television a day were more than twice as likely to be overweight compared to those who devoted their leisure time to physical activity or exercise.

LESS MEAT, MORE VEGETABLES: Another study found that meat eaters tended to gain weight faster than those who focused on fruits and vegetables. Not only vegetarians and vegans but semi-vegetarians and those who eat only small amounts of meat every day had a lower risk of being overweight or obese than other adults.

HAVE GOOD GENES: If you’ve got one or more overweight parents or if you had weight problems during middle childhood, you have a risk of becoming overweight yourself. No one knows exactly how genetics and environment contribute to this tendency, but you can alter your lifestyle to compensate.

DON’T DIET, DON’T BINGE: One study of children at high risk of obesity found that those who reported dieting or binge eating were more likely than others to have increases in body fat and BMI. For either children or adults, dieting and binge eating often go hand in hand. Overly restrictive diets are seldom successful and, even when they are; they usually lead to a period of over-eating that more than makes up for any weight lost.

Another theory is that teens who diet may already be showing a genetic tendency to being overweight and are dieting in an unsuccessful effort to compensate.

“Parents should be a good role model for their children. Eating at home instead of a quick fast food meal can be a big change that will save money and calories,” said Ford. “If you have low-fat, vegetable-oriented meals at home and keep the pantry relatively free of unhealthy snack foods, you may be doing yourself and your children a favor.”

LIFESTYLE VERSUS DESTINY: There’s little question that lifestyle has had a major impact on the epidemic of obesity among young people. Fast food, soft drinks packed with high-fructose corn syrup, television, video games and computers are all part of a cycle of more empty calories and less physical activity.

“People still do have control over their future health through the changes they make today,” Ford added.