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7 Things to Know About a Diabetic Diet
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WEIGHT LOSS DIETS: HOW TO MAKE THEM WORK
As we all know, weight loss diets are big business. And looking
at the statistics, it's easy to see why. Currently, an estimated
58 million American adults are overweight (BMI 25+), of whom an
estimated 40 million are obese (BMI 30+), 9.6 million are
seriously obese and 6 million suffer from super-obesity (BMI
40+). Worldwide statistics on overweight are equally alarming,
as reflected in the new word "globesity". In China, the number
of overweight people has risen from less than 10 percent to 15
percent in just three years. In Brazil and Colombia, the figure
of overweight is about 40 percent - comparable with several
European countries. Even sub-Saharan Africa is seeing an
increase in obesity, especially among urban women. In all
regions, obesity appears to escalate as income increases. And
the higher the incidence of obesity, the higher the incidence of
weight-related disease, including: type 2 diabetes,
cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders like insulin
resistance, and cancers of the breast and colon.
CONVENTIONAL DIET METHODS
Both the US Surgeon General and the Dietary Guidelines For
Americans (2005) issued by the US Dept of Agriculture emphasise
the need for calorie control and increased physical exercise to
reduce the overweight epidemic, but evidence suggests that
conventional diet methods do not provide significant weight
reduction, due to poor compliance. Surveys show that annual
weight loss resulting from convention diet and exercise programs
averages less than 8 pounds per annum, while in a 4-year
follow-up study of programs incorporating the use of obesity
drugs, behavior modification, diet and exercise, the final
average weight loss was 3 pounds. This apparent failure of
conventional weight loss methods is often contrasted with the
30-40 percent average weight loss following bariatric surgery.
FOOD COMPOSITION OF DIETS
Fashion sells products, and weight loss diets are no exception.
First we had low-fat diets, which were promoted as
heart-friendly ways of reducing weight. Unfortunately, this
message was interpreted by consumers as "all fats are bad, all
carbs are good", and led to an unhealthy overconsumption of
refined carbs. With the relaunch of Dr Atkins "New Diet
Revolution", the fashion penduluum swung the other way. Now
carbs were the enemy, not fat.
After Atkins came the South Beach Diet, which offered us a more
moderate low-carb approach. Now, it is GI diets - based on foods
with a lower glycemic response - that are high fashion and,
being scientifically more beneficial, are likely to remain so
for some time. However, while the food composition of diets may
change, the basic law of weight loss remains unaltered: calorie
expenditure must exceed calorie intake. To this extent, provided
a diet is calorie-controlled and includes foods from all food
groups, the exact composition of foods remains no more than a
matter of personal taste.
GENERAL EATING AND EXERCISE HABITS
When assessing the effectiveness of conventional dieting
methods, due regard must be paid to general eating habits. In
America at least, these do not appear to be helpful. Despite the
mounting evidence of weight-related ill-health, social eating
habits continue to develop in unhealthy directions.
Value-for-money "supersizing" continues to attract customers,
while fast-food sales continue to rise. And the continuing
demand for "instant" food only inspires the food industry to
produce more and more refined food options bulging
with
nutritional deficiency and calorie-overload. Is it any wonder
that levels of diet-compliance among average dieters is so low?
Meantime, an estimated 78 percent of Americans do not meet basic
activity level recommendations, while 25 percent are completely
sedentary.
IS SUPPORT THE ANSWER?
If conventional diet programs remain less than perfect ways of
tackling overweight in the face of engrained eating habits, it
would be misleading to write them off completely. Not only does
research data from the US National Weight Control Registry
demonstrate that long term weight reduction is perfectly
achievable, a number of diet programs, especially
medically-supervised clinic-based programs, are consistently
effective. What distinguishes these diets is the level of
counseling support which subjects receive. Nowadays, this
support can be provided in various ways, including: mandatory
group meetings, one-on-one sessions, online forums or
chat-rooms. And it seems to work. For example, according to
recent studies, the average weight reduction for a 10-12 week
clinic-based obesity program involving meal-replacement diets,
exercise and counseling support is 5.5 pounds.
FINDING MORE SUPPORT
If getting proper support is one way of improving conventional
diets, dieters need to rethink their approach. Instead of
focusing attention on finding the optimal eating-plan, they need
to look for programs offering optimal support. Weight Watchers
is an obvious choice but diets organised around the workplace or
other social groupings may also provide natural help. Online
programs with forum support might also be considered. In any
event, there is no substitute for a reliable dieting partner.
ADOPTING HEALTHY HABITS
Given the fact that losing as little as 7-10 percent of body
weight can improve many of the problems linked to being
overweight, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, some
obesity experts advocate a less formal approach to calorie
control. They recommend adopting certain healthy habits rather
than following a specific diet. An example might be a
200-calorie-a-day reduction achievable by taking a moderate 30
minute walk, and switching from (say) whole milk to skimmed
milk. This saves 73,000 calories a year - the equivalent of 20
pounds of body fat. The commercial response to this approach is
already visible in programs such as the "Three Hour Diet", which
recommends regular eating to maintain a regular rate of calorie
burning. Expect to see more weight loss programs like this,
which emphasise specific habits.
CONCLUSION
Current levels of overweight and obesity require urgent
attention. To be effective, conventional diet programs need to
provide optimal support rather than optimal food composition, in
order to facilitate diet compliance. For people who are unable
or unwilling to follow a specific weight loss plan, making small
but specific changes may be sufficient to achieve significant
improvements in health.
About the author:
Linda Smyth B.Sc., RD, aged 51, is a qualified dietitian
and nutritional consultant. She is part of the editorial team at
www.diet-i.com which provides a range of information about diet,
nutrition and weight management to more than 5 million visitors
per year.
Diet Information
Calorie
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| American Diabetes Association Home Page |
| Their mission is to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by this disease. Available in English and Spanish. |
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