Nutrition And Weight Management

Discusses the concept of weight management as well as the role that social, cultural, and genetic factors play in determining weight and body size.

The field of sports nutrition is a dynamic one. Core competencies in exercise physiology, psychology, integrated metabolism and biochemistry are the initial parameters for a successful career in sports nutrition. In addition to the academic fundamentals, it is imperative that the sports nutritionist understand the sport in which our client participates. This sport specific understanding should manifest itself in fuel utilization, mechanics of movement, as well as psychological processes that motivate the participant to perform optimally. Sports nutrition is a broad interdisciplinary field that involves dietitians, biochemists, exercise physiologists, cell and molecular biologists, and occasionally psychotherapists. It has both a basic science aspect that includes such concerns as understanding the body’s use of nutrients during athletic competition and the need for nutritional supplements among athletes; and an application aspect, which is concerned with the use of proper nutrition and dietary supplements to enhance an athlete’s performance. The psychological or psychiatric dimension of sports nutrition is concerned with eating and other mental disorders related to nutrition among athletes. Nutrition is the process of consuming, absorbing and using nutrients needed by the body for growth, development and the maintenance of life; nutrients are chemical substances in foods that nourish the body. The present book entitled Sports Nutrition discusses in detail all the essential and relevant aspects involve in sports nutrition. Weight management refers to a set of practices and behaviors that are necessary to keep one’s weight at a healthful level. It is preferred to the term “dieting,” because it involves more than regulation of food intake or treatment of overweight people. People diagnosed with eating disorders who are not obese or overweight still need to practice weight management. Some health care professionals use the term “nutritional disorders” to cover all disorders related to weight. The purpose of weight management is to help each patient achieve and stay at the best weight possible the context of overall health, occupation, and living situation. A second purpose is the prevention and treatment of diseases and disorders associated with obesity or with eating disorders. These disorders include depression and other psychiatric disturbances, in addition to the physical problems associated with nutritional disorders. Good nutrition is vital to successful weight loss and management, and for good health. Several benefits of good nutrition are: improvement in cholesterol, reduction of blood pressure, and increase in overall energy. Many of us have tried one or more of the many fad diets or in the past have experienced the vicious cycle of unhealthy weight loss/weight regain. Some of the popular diets suggest eliminating certain food groups while others suggest taking mega-doses of vitamins.

The primary purpose of fitness and body composition standards in the U.S. Armed Forces has always been to select individuals best suited to the physical demands of military service, based on the assumption that proper body weight and composition supports good health, physical fitness, and appropriate military appearance. The current epidemic of overweight and obesity in the United States affects the military services. The pool of available recruits is reduced because of failure to meet body composition standards for entry into the services and a high percentage of individuals exceeding military weight-for-height standards at the time of entry into the service leave the military before completing their term of enlistment. To aid in developing strategies for prevention and remediation of overweight in military personnel, the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command requested the Committee on Military Nutrition Research to review the scientific evidence for: factors that influence body weight, optimal components of a weight loss and weight maintenance program, and the role of gender, age, and ethnicity in weight management.

Nearly one out of every three adults in America is obese and tens of millions of people in the United States are dieting at any one time. This has resulted in a weight-loss industry worth billions of dollars a year and growing. What are the long-term results of weight-loss programs? How can people sort through the many programs available and select one that is right for them? Weighing the Options strives to answer these questions. Despite widespread public concern about weight, few studies have examined the long-term results of weight-loss programs. One reason that evaluating obesity management is difficult is that no other treatment depends so much on an individual's own initiative and state of mind. Now, a distinguished group of experts assembled by the Institute of Medicine addresses this compelling issue. Weighing the Options presents criteria for evaluating treatment programs for obesity and explores what these criteria meanâ€"to health care providers, program designers, researchers, and even overweight people seeking help. In presenting its criteria the authors offer a wealth of information about weight loss: how obesity is on the rise, what types of weight-loss programs are available, how to define obesity, how well we maintain weight loss, and what approaches and practices appear to be most successful. Information about weight-loss programsâ€"their clients, staff qualifications, services, and success ratesâ€"necessary to make wise program choices is discussed in detail. The book examines how client demographics and characteristicsâ€"including health status, knowledge of weight-loss issues, and attitude toward weight and body imageâ€"affect which programs clients choose, how successful they are likely to be with their choices, and what this means for outcome measurement. Short- and long-term safety consequences of weight loss are discussed as well as clinical assessment of individual patients. The authors document the health risks of being overweight, summarizing data indicating that even a small weight loss reduces the risk of disease and depression and increases self-esteem. At the same time, weight loss has been associated with some poor outcomes, and the book discusses the implications for program evaluation. Prevention can be even more important than treatment. In Weighing the Options, programs for population groups, efforts targeted to specific groups at high risk for obesity, and prevention of further weight gain in obese individuals get special attention. This book provides detailed guidance on how the weight-loss industry can improve its programs to help people be more successful at long-term weight loss. And it provides consumers with tips on selecting a program that will improve their chances of permanently losing excess weight.

This addition to the British Dietetic Association Advanced Nutrition and Dietetics book series is written for clinicians and researchers who work with any aspect of obesity and its comorbid conditions. Featuring contributions from leading researchers and practitioners from around the globe Advanced Nutrition and Dietetics in Obesity offers a uniquely international perspective on what has become a worldwide public health crisis. Chapters cover a full range of new ideas and research on the underlying drivers of obesity in populations including discussions on the genetic and clinical aspects of obesity, along with expert recommendations on how to effectively manage and prevent this chronic and persistent disease. Providing a comprehensive overview of the key literature in this field, Advanced Nutrition and Dietetics in Obesity is an invaluable resource for all those whose work should or does embrace any aspect of obesity.

A companion to "The South Beach Diet" presents more than two hundred recipes that demonstrate how to eat healthfully without compromising taste, outlining the diet's basic philosophies and sharing personal success stories.

Congratulations! You have reached your goal weight. Now what? How will you maintain it? What makes this time any different from the last 5, 10, 15, or more times you achieved success only to regain the weight and then some? This book is about weight management, not weight loss, as we all know how to lose weight. The fact that you have been on numerous diets over the years and successfully lost weight means you are an expert on losing weight. However, like me, what you are lacking is a plan to keep it off permanently. Inside these pages you will find step-by-step instructions on the 7 Essential Success Factors for maintaining your goal weight while living an organic, authentic, strong, lean, and healthy life. Beyond Weight Loss shows you how to maintain your weight loss through: - doing what you love and feel passionate about; - being where you want to be and doing what you want and with whom; - embracing who you are and what you do; - speaking your truth; - not fighting what is; - walking through open doors and leaving closed doors alone; - understanding that changes occur and knowing the right time, place, and conditions; - not taking things so personally; and - enjoying the moment and having the answers you seek.