WEIGHT MANAGEMENT- 2 views 1 goal.

INTRODUCTION- the 2 views and 1 goal.

YOUR OWN VIEW- i want to shed some weight because i feel i'm getting too big and i'm losing my aesthetic values.

YOUR DOCTOR'S VIEW- i want you to control your weight so that you can
live comfortably far away from chronic diseases that may require life long treatment.

COMMON GOAL- is to control your weight.

"it is only when you are healthy (your doctor's view) that you can put in for that beauty pageant (your own view)".

This is what i call the 2 views and 1 goal perspective and with this insight, lets demystify some MISCONCEPTIONS.

just the other day a lady came in celebrating that she just lost 5kg and i asked her what she thinks her normal weight should be. after about 5 minutes of silence she finally replied that she doesn't know what her own normal weight should be but all she knew was that her friend that weighs 5kg less than her looks good and charming.

FACT IS- To doctors, weighing more or less than your friend is not the priority. The priority is to have a NORMAL BODY MASS INDEX (BMI) which is not only the function of what your weighing scale displays to you as your weight but also a function of your height.


WHAT DOES YOUR DOCTOR EXPECT?
Doctors calculates your body mass index (BMI) to objectively say if you are underweight, of normal weight, overweight or obese(which could be mild, moderate or severe). From the values gotten from measuring your height in meters and your weight in kilogram your BMI can simply be calculated by diving your weight by the square of your height as seen in the FGI eCLINIC figure legend below.

So you can calculate your BMI and compare it to the reference value to know your nutritional status. DO IT NOW, So as not to end up like one of this two jolly friends MRS A and MRS B who both weighed 70kg and planned on shedding 5kg each. of course they succeeded in attaining their new target weight of 65kg but MRS A is 1.4M tall while MRS B 1.8M. Doing the math, MRS A now have a normal  BMI of 23.2 while her jolly friend, who had a normal BMI prior to shedding the 5kg is now underweight with her new BMI of 18.0. 

Therefore having a normal weight or being obese is a function of individual's weight and height and not by mere apparent comparison.

FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR OBESITY
They are classified into two groups; one that we have no control over and one that we can control.

NON MODIFIABLE FACTOR:  Some people by nature of their genetic make up are predisposed to obesity. It tends to run in their family. Thank goodness for the modifiable factors which can be manipulated (modified) to restore order.

MODIFIABLE FACTOR: This can simply be viewed from the perspective of INPUT- the amounts of calorie that we consume and OUTPUT- the amount of calorie that we expel from our body through our daily activities and exercise. An imbalance in which INPUT>OUTPUT (i.e when we eat more calorie and do less activities or exercise) would lead to obesity. Therefore adjusting and manipulating our input and output is central in the management of obesity.

MANAGEMENT 

INPUT- If after calculating your BMI and you are obese, be wary of pushing into your body the following;

1. FAST FOODS- fast foods are usually rich in fructose. Fructose is a cheap sweetener but very high in calorie and can damage the body system in several ways;

1. It increases the resistance of insulin (the hormone that drives glucose from your blood into your cells) thereby causing glucose to build up in your blood which will lead to diabetes mellitus in the long run from the exhaustion of the pancreas which produces the insulin.
2. It increases your blood pressure.
3. It causes accumulation of bad cholesterol in your body.
4. It increases the formation of new fat cells around your heart, your liver, and your other digestive organs.
5. It has little to no effect in suppress the hunger hormone (ghrelin) and because it is also sweet, you tend to crave for more of it and by this, it sets in motion a dangerous vicious cycle for you.

2. BEVERAGE DRINKS- that contains fructose and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) too would produce similar effects. Most manufacturers are generous enough as they usually list these fructose as part of the ingredients in their beverages. GET A LIST OF THESE BEVERAGES AND FLEE FROM THEM.

REPLACE THEM WITH

3. FOODS RICH IN PROTEINS- protein suppresses the production of the hunger hormone (ghrelin) and in this way reduces the frequency at which you push in calories into your body.

4. FOODS RICH IN GLUCOSE- glucose does not produce the above effect of fructose. It also suppress the production of the hunger hormone and stimulate the release of a hormone leptin, a hormone that suppresses your appetite. Eating food rich in glucose would entail avoiding fast foods and preparing your own meals yourself.

5. FOODS RICH IN FIBRES- fibres produces a satiety effect when it is taking and it is poorly absorbed into yourbody (less calorie) and in the same way helps you clean out your alimentary system.

OUTPUT:
It is worth stating that physical activity only helps you maintain the lost weight. The effective way to shed weight is to reduce your input.
simple exercises (like walking) in about 30-50 minutes in a day, for 3-5 days in a week has proven to be very effective in this wise.

PROBLEMS OF THE OBESE: If you are obese you are susceptible to;

1. Hypertension
2. Diabetes mellitus
3. stroke

and if you've developed any of these complications, good news is that it can be effectively managed at the hospital.

CONCLUSION: Now that the air has been cleared about who is obese from who's not, the onus is unto us to balance our input and our output so as to prevent excessive accumulation (obesity) and excessive loss (underweight). we can seek the help of a dietitian to pull through it at the hospital.