A balanced diet is the same for all sizes of people, but obese people might have a greater challenge when it comes to diet. Influences from media and health fields often wrongly causes a negative stigmatization of obese people leading to increased pressure for weight loss.
Background
Body weight is the result of calories consumed and calories burned. If the calories eaten are greater than the calories used, the excess calories are converted into fat. Fat cells in the body grow in number and size as excess calories are consumed. During periods of weight loss the fat cells shrink in size, but do not decrease in number. For this reason, weight loss maintenance is often challenging for people who were once over weight. Physical activity is vital for increasing metabolism and maintaining weight.
Calorie Needs of Obese People
Calorie needs are different for every individual based on gender, body size and activity level. Obese people need more calories than normal weight people. An obese adult woman needs 1800-2000 calories per day and an obese man needs 2000-2400 calories per day. If weight loss is desired it is recommended to decrease your intake by 300-500 calories per day.It is important not to consume less than 1200 calories per day.
Balanced Diet
The USDA or United States Department of Agriculture has outlined 5 food groups as a helpful outline for any obese person wishing to maintain a healthy diet. The food groups are grains, vegetables, fruits, diary, and meat and beans and servings per day are based on calorie needs. Eating variety from each food group is necessary to prevent nutrient deficiencies. The USDA also recommends a minimum of 30 minutes of physical activity per day as part of a balanced lifestyle.
Calorie Counting
The American Diabetes Association outlines each food group by the average amount of calories per food. This diet was created for diabetics, but it is useful for any person wishing to count calories. One serving of grain is one slice bread or half cup pasta or cereal and is about 100 calories. One serving of non-starchy vegetables, such as carrots or broccoli, is 15-30 calories. One serving of fruit and starchy vegetables is a half-cup, and has about 60-80 calories per serving. One serving of low fat meat is a two - three-ounce piece, and has about 200 calories. One serving of dairy is one-cup low fat milk or 2 ounces of low far cheese, and has about 100 calories. It is more accurate to read food labels than to rely on generalizations.
Speculation
Obesity is not a measure a healthy lifestyle. In fact, obese people are wrongly stigmatized as unhealthy. The most important contributors to good health is physical activity and intake of a healthy diet high in fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Happiness and personal fulfillment are personal feelings and should not be determined based on body size.
References
- USDA MyPyramid
- American Diabetes Association
- Understanding Nutrition Tenth Edition; Ellie White & Sharon Rady Rolfes; 2005.
- The Fat Studies Reader; Ester Rothblum & Sandra Solovay; 2009.
Member Comments