The food an individual eats; the type and the quantity,
directly relates to their weight. It is important to take in the proper amount
of calories to keep a healthy bodyweight since there are real consequences of
being either under or overweight or obese.
Body Mass Index is one popular way to determine whether
someone is at a healthy weight or not. Although this method is not fool proof,
for most individuals it is a very accurate tool. Underweight individuals are
characterized as having a BMI of 18.5 or below, while overweight individuals
have a BMI of 25-29.9 and obese individuals have a BMI over 30 or over. (Sizer
& Whitney, 2014) It is ideal to have a BMI that is somewhere between 18.5
and 25 to keep from carrying around too much unhealthy weight, and to also
provide your body with enough nutrients.
Diet plays a large role in body weight. While physical
activity is always a great habit to have, the food that is consumed plays a
bigger role in determining weight. It is important for individuals to know how
many calories they need to take in a day. Age, height and lifestyle play a role
in determining the amount of calories needed.
Once a person has determined how many calories they need,
the focus should turn to how to consume those calories. While a person could,
technically, consume all those calories by eating sweets, it is not
recommended. Since, for one, the body would not be receiving the nutrients they
need, but for another, it would probably lead to hunger later in the day.
For individuals who are underweight and needing to gain
weight, a diet that focuses on high energy density will help. (Sizer &
Whitney, 2014) Choosing foods with higher, healthy fat contents helps aid in
weight gain. Increasing portion sizes will also increase calorie intake and eating
frequently will encourage the stomach to grow to allow more food. Making sure
to eat the amount of calories a healthy body would need would help an
underweight person gain the weight they need.
To prevent overweight and obesity, it is important that
individuals do not consume too much food. The focus should be on taking in the
appropriate amount of calories while eating the appropriate proportions of
foods. The focus should be on eating fruits and vegetables, lean meats, and
whole wheat grains. By making healthier food decisions, it can prevent an
overweight person from becoming obese and can help all people with too much
weight to lose some.
Diet is instrumental for all individuals, regardless of
their weight. The website choosemyplate.gov provides visual clues on how to
build a proper diet as well as additional information for how to eat properly
for a healthy weight. Avoiding unnecessary calories and fats go a long way to
overall weight health. Individuals should also aim to cut out unnecessary sugars
like soft drinks and instead opt for healthier beverages, such as water, or
milk.
Body Mass Index is a good tool to use to find out whether an
individual is underweight, overweight, obese or just right. By knowing where a
person is on the BMI scale, an individual can make the appropriate dietary
changes to get to the proper weight, or to even stay at the same weight. Taking
advantage of websites such as the Choose My Plate site, can help individuals
learn what quantities of which foods they should be eating.
References
Sizer, F. S., &
Whitney, E. N. (2014). Nutrition: Concepts & controversies.
Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
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