Weight Management

Question 1

Causes of obesity (7)

Answer 1

1. Food consumption: too many calories increase fat storage
2. Food production: high calorie, unhealthy foods become cheaper and more accessible
3. Physiology: Hormonal imbalances, genetics, metabolic problems
4. Individual physical activity: level of PA, ability to exercise, cost of local gym membership, etc
5. Environmental physical activity: does your environment promote PA?
6. Individual psychology: depression, anxiety, addiction can contribute
7. Social psychology: Friends and family can affect eating patterns

Question 2

Dangers of obesity (try to get 6-8)

Answer 2

Stroke
Heart disease
Sleep apnea
Diabetes II
Some forms of cancer
Gallblader disease
Hypertension
Pregnancy complications
Psychological disorders such as depression
Increased risks during surgery
etc

Question 3

Ideal weight (medical definition, how to determine)

Answer 3

The weight at which one’s health risk is the lowest

1. Body fat % / Body composition (difficult to accurately measure)
2. Waist-to-Hip ratio (if more than 1 for men, 0.85 for women = higher risk for heart disease)
3. Health-weight tables: table that allocates three (small,medium,large) frame weights to each height. (doesn’t consider body composition, thus a muscular lean person would be classified overweight)
4. Body Mass Index (BMI): weight in kg / height in m^2 (data are easy to obtain but doesn’t consider composition or distribution) less than 18.5 = underweight; 18.5-24.9 = normal; greater or equal to 25 = overweight; greater or equal to 30 = obese

Question 4

What determines your weight?

Answer 4

Your energy balance

Energy balance = energy input - energy output (+ve: weight gain, -ve: weight loss)

Question 5

Energy expenditure (how do you burn energy?)

Answer 5

Basal metabolism (60-75%), Thermogenesis (10%), and PA (15-30%)

Question 6

Energy intake (what determines how much you eat?)

Answer 6

Hunger: your physiological drive to consume
Appetite: your psychological drive to consume (influenced by sight, smell, thought of food)
Satiety: the feeling of fullness; eating slowly, mixed nutrient, high fibre all promote satiety. Takes around 20 minutes for your brain to receive the message that your stomach is full

Question 7

Feedback loop (the chain of events if your force unhealthy diet)

Answer 7

crash diet -> weight loss -> hormonal, metabolic, psychological changes -> increased appetite, fat storage, inability to maintain diet -> weight gain -> weight dissatisfaction -> back to crash diet

Question 8

Practical guide to weight management

Answer 8

Change your mentality 
Find a PA you enjoy 
Look for a sensible diet 
Change your eating habits 
Look for social support