Overview

Weight management covers a broad spectrum of health-related weight it is not just about losing weight but also about gaining weight. It has major implications on health and even though it looks and feels like a very small part but plays a vital role and lifestyle diseases and other health problems. Weight management is not to be confused with fat management which all for the sake of convenience can be put into the same but it is not necessarily the same.

According to a quick Google search on what is weight management will so many results claiming so many different things that any person even with some reasonable knowledge can easily get overwhelmed and confused. So as I looked upon the situation, I figured why not dive deep and see what I can find. After quite a bit of research here is what I could summarize.

What is Nutrition?

The nutritional aspect of weight management programs includes education about healthy eating, as well as changing a person’s food intake.

Role of Nutrition in Weight Management

Most weight management programs are based on a diet that provides adequate but unfortunately not the complete amount of vitamins and minerals because of inefficiencies in food; 50 to 63 grams of protein per day; adequate intake of carbohydrates (100 g) and fiber (20-30 g); and no more than 30% of calories per day from fat. The Good Weight Management Diet is intended to teach people how to make wise food choices and to encourage gradual weight loss. Some diets are based on a fixed menu, while others are based on a food exchange. On a food exchange diet, a person can choose from several items from a specific food group when following a menu plan. For example, if a person’s menu plan allows for two items from the vegetable group at lunch, they might have one raw vegetable and one cooked vegetable or one serving of vegetable juice with another. More detailed information on these and other weight management diets is available in a booklet from the National Institutes of Health Weight Information Network, titled Weight Loss for Life. , listed in the “Resources” section below.

 Difference between Weight & Fat Management

 Weight Management

In essence, it refers to not just weight loss but also weight gain if needed. The primary objective is to bring a person’s Body Mass Index (BMI) in the range of 20 – 25. However, these numbers are not set in stone and are not the only driving measure for a person’s health. There are a lot of factors that need to be taken into consideration. Living conditions, if the person drinks or consumes a lot of chocolates, also what they eat on regular basis to name a few.

Fat Management

Fat Management differs from weight management primary because it targets your visceral fat and excess fat around your organs. The key to managing those kilos is not in calories but rather in the timing at which you eat and more specifically how much carbohydrate and fats you consume on a regular basis.

Overweight & Obese

 Being overweight and obese are not the same. People who are overweight weigh more than they should for their height. Excess weight can come from muscle tissue, body water, or bones, as well as fat. An obese person has too much fat relative to other types of body tissue; so it is possible to be overweight without being obese.

There are several ways to determine if a person is obese. Some measurements are based on a relationship between a person’s height and weight. The oldest measure of this correlation is the weight table that lists the desired weights for a given height. A more accurate measure of obesity is body mass index or BMI. BMI is an indirect measure of body fat. BMI is calculated in English measurements by multiplying a person’s weight in pounds by 703.1 and dividing that number by the person’s height in inches squared. A BMI between 19 and 24 is considered normal; 25-29 is overweight; 30 to 34 is moderately obese; 35-39 is severe obesity; 40 or more is defined as pathological obesity. More direct methods of measuring body fat include measuring the thickness of the skin folds on the back of the arm and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). Bioelectrical impedance analysis measures the total amount of water in the body using a special tool to calculate the different degrees of resistance to electric current in different types of body tissues. Fat tissue is more resistant to electrical currents than body tissue with a larger amount of water.

Does Exercise help in Weight Management

Regular exercise is a major part of a healthy lifestyle because it increases the number of calories the body uses and helps the body replace fat with lean muscle tissue. However, just relying on it is not a good strategy as it covers a rather small aspect of weight management that is calorie consumption.

Exercise does help reduce emotional stress levels and promotes an overall sense of well-being. However, people should consult a Certified Physical Trainer, before starting an exercise program to ensure that the activity they are interested in is safe from any other health concerns they may have. For example, people with osteoarthritis should avoid sports that have a strong impact on the knee and ankle joints. Good options for most people include swimming, walking, cycling, and stretching exercises.

Psychological Aspect of Weight Management

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a form of psychotherapy that has been shown to be effective in reinforcing the changes in food choices and eating habits required for weight management. In this form of therapy, patients learn to change their eating habits by keeping diaries and notes about what they eat, events or sensations that trigger overeating, and any patterns. Other things they perceive are related to their eating choices or eating habits. They also examine their attitudes towards diet and weight management and try to change any attitudes that might be self-destructive or interfere with a healthy lifestyle. Most CBT programs also include nutrition education and counseling.

Eating Disorders

Eating disorders are mental disorders defined by unhealthy diets and weight management practices. Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that expresses a strong fear of becoming obese by severely restricting food intake and refusing to maintain a normal weight. Bulimia nervosa is a disorder characterized by episodes of bulimia and subsequent attempts to prevent laxative abuse, forced vomiting, or excessive exercise to gain weight from food. The third type of eating disorder occurs in some obese and normal-weight people. In bulimia, people eat a lot, but they don’t try to get rid of food after eating. The majority of patients diagnosed with anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa are women, but 40% of patients with eating disorders are men.

 Surgical Approach to manage Weight

Bariatric surgery has been the most effective method for weight management in people who are obese (BMI 40 or more) or who are severely obese with other health complications. Surgical treatment of obesity often results in significant weight loss that is successfully maintained for more than 5 years. The most common surgical procedures for weight control are longitudinal band gastric bypass (GBV), sometimes called “gastrectomy,” and gastrectomy. Vertical band gastric bypass works by limiting the amount of food the stomach can hold, while gastrectomy works by preventing the normal absorption of nutrients from food.

Recommended Daily Allowance

“Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) are the levels of intake of essential nutrients that, on the basis of scientific knowledge, are judged by the Food and Nutrition Board to be adequate to meet the known nutrient needs of practically all healthy persons.” –NCBI

Reference: https://www.nal.usda.gov/sites/default/files/fnic_uploads//SummaryTables.pdf

 Ways to Manage Weight

Along with what and how we will also take a quick look at some remedies and methods of weight management and try to get a realistic picture of, how reasonable or even ‘healthy’ are they?

Dieting: Score 0/10

Remarks: Gets results because the body is not getting enough calories however it does nothing to treat the underlying cause but rather makes it worse by training the body to store more food because it doesn’t know when if ever the next meal will come.

Eating Healthy: Score 3/10

Remarks: It is practically unreasonable to think that all our dietary requirements can be consumed in one day by everybody if that were the case we will end up eating food from the moment we wake up to the point we sleep and we will still fall short and that has nothing to say about how expensive it would be and how much-unwanted calories it will bring.

 Chemical Supplements: Score 5/10

Remarks: Should ideally be consumed under the supervision of a medical professional as they can be useful for chronic conditions however long-term use is not advisable and does not yield favorable results as this is not food.

 Natural Supplements: Score 9.5/10

Remarks: It is as close as it gets however they are a little bit on the price spectrum and widely counterfeited. However, with proper conjunction, they have the highest probability of yielding the most favorable results.