subject: Obesity And Fad Diets [print this page] Obesity And Fad Diets Obesity And Fad Diets
Globally, there are more than 1 billion overweight adults, at least 300 million of them obese. the majority of them being African American or Mexican American. Obesity and overweight pose a major risk for chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and stroke, and certain forms of cancer. With more and more prepackaged food and less and less activity, the number of obese people in America has steadily increased since the 1960's. Obesity is an excess proportion of total body fat. A person is considered obese when his or her weight is 20% or more above normal weight. The prevalence of overweight and obesity is commonly assessed by using body mass index (BMI), A person is considered overweight if his or her BMI is between 25 and 29.9; a person is considered obese if his or her BMI is over 30.
"Morbid obesity" means that a person is either 50%-100% over normal weight, more than 100 pounds over normal weight, has a BMI of 40 or higher, or is sufficiently overweight to severely interfere with health or normal function. With that said lets talk a little about fad diets, first off what is a fad diet you might ask well These quick-fix, short-term plans come in all shapes and sizes. In general, any diet with one of more of the following characteristics is considered a fad diet: Quick weight loss Easy to follow No exercise required Eat whatever you want Great amount of weight loss guaranteed Uses before and after photos as primary marketing tool Actors portraying doctors or other medical experts Extremely limit food choices or entire food groups Expensive products and/or seminars required here is an example of a fad diet The Atkins Diet Promotes a high protein diet and initially eliminates carbohydrates entirely from the diet. This diet is hard on the liver as it is forced to produce glucose (the main energy source for body that is normally supplied by carbs in the diet). Results in protein tissue loss because your body is using proteins from tissue to create glucose. It also causes loss of essential minerals such as potassium in the urine. Weight is regained when a normal diet is resumed as protein tissue is rebuilt and glucose stores are built up.
