Chapter 8: diet, exercise, weight control Flashcards
Factors that explain people’s dietary choices
inborn processes, environment or experience with foods
Effect of inborn processes and experiences with food on diet
the influence of genetic factors on one’s perception of sweetness and preferences for vegetables, fruit, and protein; preferences for dairy and starches
5 environmental influences of diet
(1) newborns can learn to change their preferences based on their mother’s diet; (2) exposure to a food may increase liking of it; (3) availability of fast food increases its consumption; (4) modeling through ads; (5) supersized food portions increase consumption
Health risks of dietary excesses
atherosclerosis, hypertension, cancer
Atherosclerosis
the deposit of fatty plaques in our blood vessels due to cholesterol with low-density lipoproteins or “bad cholesterol’
5 risk factors affecting the risk of LDL or bad cholesterol
age (over 45 for men and 55 for women), cigarette smoking, high BP, low HDL (<40 mg), family history of early cardiovascular disease
Treatment for cardiovascular illness
reductions in LDL combined with dietary (e.g. mediterranean diet) and drug treatment (e.g. statin drugs) slowly reverses atherosclerosis and reduces risk of heart attacks
Which substances has the greatest effect on BP?
sodium and caffeine increase BP and reactivity when stressed (temporarily for caffeine)
Multiple risk factor intervention trial (MRFIT)
program designed to reduce high serum cholesterol by providing counselling and information about the benefits of and methods for dietary change
2 criteria used to judge the desirability of our weight
attractiveness and healthfulness (having a normal BMI)
Factors affecting the prevalence of overweight and obese people
nationality, sociocultural factors, gender, age
What is responsible for the western obesity epidemic?
mostly environmental and lifestyle factors rather than biological (e.g. stressful lifestyle, high energy/high fat foods, fast foods, sedentary behavior, supersized portions, food packaging)
Systems approach to obesity
obesity is an end result of the intricate interactions of biology, behavior, and environment
Obesity
disease wherein one has a very high amount of body fat relative to lean body mass and a BMI of 30 or higher
2 main reasons why adults tend to gain weight with age
weight is often put on at certain times (e.g. pregnancy) without being completely taken off; physical activity and metabolism declines with age
Prevalence of underreporting dietary intake
common among heavy individuals, females, and people with little education
Biological factors of weight
metabolic rate, heredity (e.g. BMI of parents, modeling health behaviors, epigenetics, specific genes)
Set-point theory
each person’s body has a set weight that it strives to maintain through a thermostat-like mechanism that takes corrective measures when the body departs from the set weight
Prediction of the set-weight theory
an drastic change in caloric intake for a few months shows rapid weight changes initially then shows slower changes until a limit is reached
Role of hypothalamus in body weight regulation
it monitors the blood for specific hormone levels (ghrelin, leptin, insulin)
Ghrelin vs leptin vs insulin
ghrelin is secreted when the stomach is empty and there is low energy intake; leptin regulates eating and metabolism; insulin regulates glucose conversion to fat and fat storage in adipose tissue
Hyperinsulinemia
increased sensations of hunger, perceived pleasantness of sweet tastes, and food consumption due to high serum levels of insulin
Fat-cell hyperplasia
development of an excessive number of fat cells due to weight gain that increases one’s set point, which is resistant to change
Psychosocial factors of weight
perception of one’s weight changes, negative emotions (e.g. stress, boredom, depression), social network, sensitivity to food-related cues in the environment
Binge eating
episodes wherein one eats more than most people would in a short period of time and feels unable to control that behavior
Lifestyle factors of obesity
unhealthy diet (e.g. sugary drinks, alcohol), physical inactivity, poor sleep, screen time, stress, interpersonal factors
3 factors of the health risks of being overweight/obese
degree of being overweight, fitness, fat distribution in body
Compensatory beliefs
convictions that healthy behaviors can compensate for unhealthy ones
Negative effects of compensatory beliefs
lower diet adherence and compromised weight loss success
Factors of sucessful weight loss
high self-efficacy, constructive support from family and social network, gradual lifestyle changes
Lifestyle interventions
program that incorporates behavioral methods to modify diet and exercise in overweight people
3 conclusions on lifestyle interventions
(1) decreases body weight by 7-10% in 4-6 months; (2) most effective when accompanied by meals plans or replacements; (3) many maintain their lower weight
5 components of lifestyle interventions
nutrition and exercise counselling, self-monitoring, stimulus control techniques, altering the act of eating, behavioral contracting or having a reward system
2 important features of lifestyle interventions
having family or friends working as a team and rewarding individuals for not engaging in sedentary activities
Problem-solving training
teaches people strategies that will help them deal with everyday difficulties of sticking to their diets
Medically supervised approaches to weight loss
prescribed medications (e.g. orlistat), protein-sparing modified fast regimen, bariatric surgery, liposuction (strictly cosmetic and not for weight reduction)
3 kinds of situations wherein people who have lost weight overeat
when there are food cues, they have negative emotions, and boredom
2 critical components of follow-up treatment programs after weight loss
frequent therapist meetings to deal with problems in maintaining weight; social influences of other group members
Anorexia nervosa
ED with a drastic reduction in food intake and an unhealthy loss of weight due to fear of gaining weight and a distorted view of their body shape
Bulimia nervosa
ED with recurrent episodes of binge eating followed by purging that occur when positive affect is low and negative affect is high (e.g. chronic high stress)
3 psychosocial benefits of exercise
lower stress and anxiety, improved cognitive processes (for aerobic exercise), enhanced self-concepts (especially in children)
7 strategies to promote exercising
preassessment of purposes, benefits, health status; exercise selection; exercise conditions; setting specific, graduated, and measurable goals; reinforcement; social influence; record keeping
Health halo effect
tendency to judge an entire food item as healthier based on one or more specific attributes that are perceived as healthy (e.g. “organic” label)
What kinds of diets are best?
sustainable, balanced diets that provide optimal amounts of all essential nutrients for the body’s metabolic needs
“Healthy at every size” (HAES) approach
an alternative to the weight control approach to getting healthy that focuses on weight-neutral outcomes (e.g. setting behavioral goals instead of target body measurements)
Goals of the HAES approach
to promote size-acceptance, end weight discrimination, reduce the cultural obsession with weight-loss and thinness
Sedentary behavior
any activity involving sitting, reclining, or lying down that has very low energy expenditure; different from low physical activity
