Obesity Today

Filed in archive Weight on February 26, 2007

Obesity is on the rise in many parts of the world. The cause? Eating more and exercising less. One way of determining whether you are overweight or obese is the BMI (body mass index.) The World Health Organization (WHO) explains BMI this way:

The usual guide to classifying overweight obesity is the body mass index (BMI), a simple index of weight-for-height. It is defined as the weight in kilogrammes divided by the square of the height in meters (kg/m2).

A person's BMI should only be considered as a rough guide because it may not correspond to the same degree of fatness in different individuals.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines "overweight" as a BMI equal to or more than 25, and "obesity" as a BMI equal to or more than 30.

These cut-off points provide a benchmark for individual assessment, but there is evidence that risk of chronic disease in populations increases progressively from a BMI of 21.

A lot of the blame for our obesity problems has been placed upon the use of trans fats. But, according to SaukValley.com, trans fats aren't the only villain. Removing trans fats doesn't offer a cure-all to our problems.

Some nutrition and health analysts, though, said the preoccupation with trans fats has gone too far.

They said in some cases, trans fats simply are being replaced with other unhealthy oils. At a time when 66 percent of U.S. adults are overweight or obese, the analysts said the nation's fixation with trans fats is drawing attention away from other important reasons that Americans' diets are so bad for their hearts - they continue to consume too many calories, too much junk food and not enough fruits and vegetables.

"It is important to remind ourselves that changing oils and removing trans fat does not magically turn a deep-fried food into a health food," said Dawn Jackson Blatner, a registered dietitian at Northwestern Memorial Wellness Institute in Chicago and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association.

One way of controlling weight is the use of portion control. Eating smaller portions, naturally, means a lower intake of calories. According to the C.A.M. report:

Here's a typical American approach to portion control, from Dr. Mary Ellen Camire and Megan Blackmore writing in the latest edition of Food Technology magazine.

Rather than make the portions smaller, just fill the space with non-caloric ingredients or alter the mix of protein, fats, and fiber.

Read the article to see how to do this. Another way is to use a smaller plate.