Importance Of Weight Management For Your Overall Health

Weight Management: Key Determinants of Healthy Weight.

Weight Management and its importance have been described in previous posts. In this article, I am going to discuss in detail the key factors of a healthy weight. Reading the earlier post about your weight management and its importance is recommended first to get you a basic idea of it.

You know why weight management is important to you. With body index measurements and other calculations like waist and buttocks measurements, you can now check if you are in a healthy weight position. You have gained knowledge about whether your weight is healthy or ideal.

Now, you need to know what are the Key Determinants/factors of a Healthy Weight.

Maintain a healthy weight.
Image Credit-Wikipedia

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Food and Drinks(Diet).

When it concerns the determinants of healthy weight, your eating habits will come at the top. The next is your body movements or physical activities. 

Although doctors and health experts focus on diet and physical activity, other factors [such as the frequency of your illness and the tendency to take medicines, environmental, and some factors] can affect your weight in different ways.

We take food and drink to provide nutrition and energy to the body. If there is no balance between calorie consumption and calorie burns, it will affect your weight. 

The difference between calory consumption and calory burned in your body is called energy balance, which is one of the important determinants of weight management.

This energy balance is regulated by different types of hormones that either suppress or stimulate your appetite.

How the energy balance factor affects your weight?

The key points to note that

a) source of energy consumption- the food and drinks supplied to your body.

b) ways to burn calory- physical activities and some other factors (not taken into consideration for simplicity).

If other factors remain unchanged, the relation between energy balance and weight can be described as below:

• If your calory consumption and calory burn are equal, it is called a neutral energy balance and therefore, your weight will remain unchanged.
• If your calory consumption is more than calory burn, it is called a positive energy balance and therefore your weight will be increased.
• If your calory consumption is less than calory burn, it is called a negative energy balance and your weight will be decreased.

From the above example, it is clear that a healthy weight is influenced by your energy balance to a significant extent. If you're overweight your focus is to burn more calories than you consumed. Consuming fewer calories than calories burned each day is crucial to weight loss.

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute recommends a slow and steady approach by eating 500 fewer calories than the number of calories burned each day If your goal is to lose weight.

Nutrients of Food

Which foods to include in the diet?

Eat a healthy breakfast for weight control. Image-Pixabay

The amount and quality of food and drink you eat each day plays an important role in weight management as well. To manage weight, it is important to eat a balanced diet.

Get adequate nutrition every day, reduce the intake of certain foods and drinks that affect your weight.

Avoid high-calorie foods, sugary foods, and certain drinks that increase the positive balance of your energy.

Choosing fiber-riched nutritious food helps to strengthen the functioning of your digestive system.

The United States Department of Agriculture and the United States Department of Health and Human Services attempt to provide evidence-based recommendations for the types and amounts of certain foods that people should eat to maintain a healthy diet in the document ''The Dietary Guidelines for Americans''. 

This document is updated every 5 years. A recent version (2015–2020 of Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends the following:

The US Department of Health and Human Services and US Department of Agriculture in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

a) A variety of vegetables,- vegetables like dark green, red and orange, beans and peas, starchy, and other vegetables included the following:

b) A lot of fruits including whole fruits

c) Protein foods including seafood, lean meat poultry food, and vegetable protein

d) Grains including whole grains of 50% or more,d)fat-free or low-fat dairy products

e) Oil extracted from plants and nuts

Recommendation for limiting the foods includes- 

Trans-fats and saturated fats. These should not exceed 10% of total daily calories

Added sugars – should not exceed 10% of total daily calories

Salt – should consume but 2,300 mg of salt per day.

The guideline states that many Americans eat certain nutrients less than that needed for a healthy diet. Priority was given to keep you on the path to improving your health through nutrition.

You may have the interest to read 20 Miracle Foods for Healthy Digestion.

Physical Activity

Physical activity is another important determinant of weight management. It is one of the main components of your daily energy expenditure, as stated in the previous paragraph. 

Physical activity or movement of your body includes your professional activities, work at home, and physical exercise.

Physical activity may help you maintain a healthy weight and avoid developing non-communicable diseases like diabetes or blood sugar [known as silent killer], heart disease, and high cholesterol, etc. Regular physical activity is important to burn the extra energy stored in your body.

For any adult, sit less move more should be the strategy. Each day, the requirement of physical movement for an adult is 150 minutes-300 minutes. If you do more, that will be the added advantage for your weight as well as health.

 If you want to know more, click on the link.  Physical Activity Guidelines For American

Chronic illness and Disease

Chronic illness and disease is another factor that can affect your weight management process.

If you suffer from acute illness, it can affect your weight management. Some diseases play a role in weight gain, such as hyperthyroidism. 

The ideal weight helps keep you healthy. On the other hand, Good health helps maintain a healthy weight.

Medication

Excessive intake of medicines to get rid of Chronic Illness can be a determinant of effective weight management. Some medicines can cause weight loss or weight gain. These side effects are to be considered when attempting to manage a healthy weight.

Other determinants of Weight Management

Some other factors can affect weight management, such as environmental factors, genetic factors. mental conditions etc.

Weight Management Tips

Increase Consumptions of the following:

• fiber
• protein
• dairy
• soup
• raw or boiled vegetables
• fruits
• low- calorie foods
• green tea
• black coffee

Reduce Consumptions of the following:

• high-calorie food
• salt
• added sugar
• alcohol
• refined flower
• cold drinks

Control your weight through diet is the best strategy to enhance metabolism naturally.

Ideal weight can help boost the immunity power of your body. 

Conclusion

The major factors responsible for affecting the weight management program are mentioned here. There may be some other determinants of weight management.

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Importance Of Weight Management For Your Overall Health

REFERENCES

1.https://www.hhs.gov/fitness/eat-healthy/dietary-guidelines-for-americans/index.html

2.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weight_management

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