Obesity - Risk Factors and the Role of Diet - Essay Example

Obesity 1. Risk factors and the role of diet Some of the risk factors of obesity include hypertension, lipid disorders, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, respiratory problems, and certain cancers (Schnitzer 2003, p.9). For instance, risk of hypertension increases with increasing body weight as weight gain is associated with increased systolic and diastolic blood pressure (Foreyt 2003, p.165). Type 2 diabetes is developed because increased fat contribute to a combination of tissue insulin resistance and failure of insulin secretion the islet β cells (Williams & Fruhbeck 2009, p.225). Obesity can lead to sleeping disorders or sleep apnea since weight gain is associated with enlargement of the adenoids and tonsils (Freemark 2010, p.244). Similarly, obesity and excessive weight can lead to osteoarthritis due to increase load and mechanical stress on the knee (WHO 2000, p.54). Various factors are responsible for having an obesogenic environment, which increases the probability of being obese. These include physical inactivity, favourable economic conditions, constant food availability, fashionable eating habits, poor family supervision, influence of TV advertisement on food selection, and cheap but non-healthy food (Aznar 2010, p.339). Similarly, high fat and high-energy diets along with low levels of physical activity can lead to obesity (Ekoe et al. 2008, p.62). Unhealthy food such as those with high fat and cholesterol contents contribute to obesity. Study shows that people should avoid foods rich in fat such as steaks, hamburgers, french fries, pizza, ice cream, chocolate, cake, and other sweet desserts (Fairburn & Brownell 2002, p.52). Avoid full-cream milk, fatty margarines and spreads, high-fat salad creams and soup, chocolate-coated serials, fried foods, and thickening gravies and stews (Burniat 2002, p.280). Generally, people should avoid fast food since they are usually high in fat and sugar but low in nutrients and fibre. Moreover, study shows that fast food menus typically have about 1,100 calories per 100 grams, which is twice the calories recommended for a healthy diet (Schauss 2006, p.56). Protective factors include limiting protein, fat, and carbohydrate intake to 15, 30-35 and 50-55 %. Only 10% of energy intake should come from biscuits, chocolate bars, crisps, and other energy dense snacks as well as high-energy lemonades. Increase intake of complex carbohydrate and foods containing fibre or vegetables and fruits (Kiess et al. 2004, p.106). Eat home-prepared meals as much as possible and minimise consumption of high-sugar foods or sugar-sweetened drinks like common soft drinks (Hills & King 2007, p.143). According to O’Dea & Eriksen (2010), factors that play protective role in maintaining a healthy weight or avoiding obesity include having healthy source of breakfast, balanced dinner, and having fruits at every meal (p.251). 2. Dietary Guidelines and recommendations Dietary Guidelines and Recommendations Day Breakfast Lunch Dinner Deserts Snack Comments 1 Oatmeal and a glass of orange juice Whole grain bread, lean poultry (turkey or chicken breast), tomato and lettuce, water Roaster chicken/baked potato/whole grain roll/water Broiled mango Apple and a glass of milk 2 Pancake made from whole grain flour/maple syrup/a glass of fruit juice Spicy chicken with roasted vegetable tortilla wrap Grilled eggplant Panini Sauteed strawberry sundae Whole grain crackers/slice cheese/fresh fruit Less than 350 calories/less fat 3 Egg sandwich/a glass of orange juice Roast beef sandwich with horseradish and rocket leaves Beef and black bean noodles Grilled fruit Spicy peanut spread on celery Breakfast is high in fibre and protein/ Dinners is low in saturated fats and good source of protein 4 Veggie Omelet/a glass of fruit juice Chicken and fruit salad Fish/Brown rice/green beans Fruit cocktail Sliced cucumber/ non-fat plain yogurt/glass of lemon juice 5 Boiled egg/wholemeal bread/glass of unsweetened fruit juice Hot and sour slaw Chicken breast/brown rice Frozen yogurt Apple with non-fat yogurt 6 Omelette with tomatoes, green onions, and shredded cheese/one glass of water Grilled wild salmon/sweet potato/spinach Shredded wheat and oatmeal/sugar-free cranberry juice Cheese cake Graham crackers with Peanut butter 7 Whole grain cereal/a glass of low fat milk/chopped apples Spicy bean and Guacamole Burritos Grilled chicken with peppers/ Chickpeas/ Rice Fruit smoothies Tomato soup Breakfast is fibre rich General Recommendation: Eat food that is low in saturated fat and cholesterol as much as possible such as fish, lean poultry, and food cooked with vegetable oils. Eat whole grains and more fruits and vegetables. Eat foods with less salt and those flavoured with spices and herbs. Minimize use or intake of high-sodium items like soy sauce, ketchup, mustard, pickles, and olives. Eat moderately and avoid food with added sugar. Recipe for Breakfast Veggie Microwave Frittata (Source: MedicineNet.com) 1 ¼ cup shredded frozen hash browns 2/3 cup shredded carrot ¼ cup chopped onion 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley 2 teaspoons olive oil 2 eggs ½ cups egg substitute ¼ cup low-fat milk 1/8 teaspoon dry mustard 2 dashes Tabasco sauce ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese Preparation: 1. Combine potatoes, carrot, onion, parsley, oil, and place in microwave oven. Set microwave to high for about 3 minutes. Stir every 90 seconds. 2. Combine eggs, milk, egg substitute, mustard, and Tabasco sauce in a mixing bowl for two minutes. Pour mixture to casserole dish and mix. 3. Place in dish in microwave. Set microwave to high for about 2 minutes. Sprinkle cheese on top. Nutritional information: 280 calories, 20 grams protein, 21 grams carbohydrate, 13 grams fat, 4.3 grams, 6.2-gram monounsaturated fat, 1.2 grams polyunsaturated fat, 218 milligrams cholesterol, 2.2 grams fibre, 296-milligram sodium, Calories from fat is only 42%. Recipe for Lunch Oriental Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe (Weightloss.com.au) 1 litre chicken stock (salt reduced) 2 tsp minced ginger 2 cups BBQ chicken (shredded) 2 tbsp. Soy sauce 1 minced garlic clove 2 spring onions 2 tsp. Sesame oil 1 egg (beaten) 1 pack rice noodles 1 red chilli Preparation: 1. In a large pot, combine stock, ginger, and garlic and boil. 2. Turn down the heat and add soy sauce, sesame oil, and noodles 3. Simmer for 5 minutes then add chicken, spring onions, and chilli 4. Remove from heat and add beaten egg 5. Consistently stir for about 30 seconds 6. Garnish with spring onion and chilli before serving Nutritional information: Energy – 328 kJ Protein- 8.0 grams Fat – 0.7 grams (saturated) Carbohydrate – 5.0 grams Sugar content – 0.1 grams Sodium 98 milligrams Recipe for Dinner Chicken Dinner Salad (Source: My Recipes.com) 6 medium beets 6 ounce boneless chicken breast (skinless) ½ cup plain yogurt ¼ cup hot chilli sauce 2 tbps. olive oil 1 tsp black pepper (ground) ½ tsp. Kosher salt ¼ cup white wine vinegar 1 tbsp honey 1 mince shallot 6 ears schucked corn 6 cups spinach 4 ounces goat cheese (sliced) 6 tbps toasted pecans (chopped) Preparation: 1. Scrub beets with a brush and cut 1 inch stem on beets. 2. Place beets in saucepan with water. 3. Boil then reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour. 4. Allow beets to cool then chop beets. 5. Combine chicken, yogurt, and hot chilli sauce in plastic bag and marinate in refrigerator for 30 minutes. 6. Combine oil, pepper, and salt in a bowl and stir with a whisk. 7. Place chicken on preheated grill for 12 minutes. 8. Turn each side every 6 minutes. 9. When done, cut chicken into 1 inch strips. 10. Brush corn with remaining oil and sprinkle it with pepper and salt. Grill until lightly charred. 11. Cool and cut kernels from ears of corn. 12. Serve with 1-cup spinach on plate. Nutritional information: Calories - 45 grams Fat - 21.9 grams Saturated fat- 6.5 grams Monounsaturated fat – 10.5 grams Polyunsaturated fat – 3.6 grams Protein – 35.1 grams Carbohydrates – 33.5 grams Fibre – 7.4 grams Cholesterol – 78 milligrams Iron – 4.9 milligrams Sodium – 614 milligrams Calcium – 175 milligrams Recipe for Dessert Cheesy (Source: Sparkpeople.com) ½ cup reduced fat ricotta 1 dash vanilla extract 2 tsps sucralose Preparation: 1. Mix together and serve Nutritional Information: Calories – 175.7 Total Fat – 9.7 grams Cholesterol – 38.1 grams Sodium – 153.8 milligrams Total carbs – 7.4 grams Dietary fibre – 0.0 grams Protein – 14.0 grams 3. Supplementation ‘Starch blockers’ or dietary supplements that slow down gastro intestinal amylase are known to reduce weight. This is done by limiting gastrointestinal absorption of complex carbohydrate. The supplement can also reduce caloric intake and augment distal CHO fermentation (Wu et al. 2010, p.73). For this reason, Wu et al. introduced dietary supplement containing 1,000 milligrams of Phaseoulus vulgaris extract from white kidney bean in 2010. This extract has been known to slow down alpha amylase, a digestive enzyme found in human intestine. It also inhibit starch re-absorption that can lead to weight loss. Study shows that participants who took the extract lost significant body weight after one month. The mechanism behind this weight loss after taking the bean extract is dependent on alpha-amylase-inhibiting activity interfering with the digestion of complex CHO thereby reducing carbohydrate-derived calories (Wu et al. 2010, p.77). In a study to detect the effect of calcium supplementation on obesity and vitamin D on body composition, Shou et al., 2010 conducted a secondary analysis of data from a population-based, double-blind, place-controlled, randomized trial. This data came from an experiment designed to understand the effects of calcium and vitamin D on osteoporotic fractures. Results shows that there were changes in trunk fat, trunk lean, and percentage of trunk fat of those undertook calcium intervention. In contrast, vitamin D supplementation has not effect on weight loss (Shou et al. 2010, p.7). Since Vitamin A regulated adipose tissue growth, Jeyakumar et al. (2005) attempted to investigate the role of dietary vitamin A supplementation in regulating adipose tissue mass on obese rat. Result of this study shows that vitamin A have a modulating effect in the balance between apoptotic and non-apoptotic pathways that are associated with adipose tissue weight (p.297). Similarly, Sakamuri et al. (2011), found the chronic consumption of Vitamin A enriched die decreased 11β –HSD1 activity in liver and visceral fat of WNIN/ob obese rats. The result suggest that decreased in this activity may result to decreased levels of active glucocorticoids in adipose tissue that may lead to visceral fat loss (p.8). 4. Medical treatment Medical treatment of obesity is commonly based on caloric restriction, exercise, lifestyle, and long-term behaviour modifications (Debas 2004, p.85). Weight management usually involves short-term medical treatment and long-term prevention strategies. Medical treatment of obesity is applied to people with a BMI greater than 30 kg/m2 thus drugs therapies using orlistat and sibutramine is wide used. Orlistat is an intestinal lipase inhibitor that has been known to reduce overweight as well as therapeutic effects on hyperlipidemia and diabetes control while sibutramine that also inhibit re-uptake of catecholamines and reducing HbA1C in patients have been widely used (Byrne & Wild 2011, p.2172). Surgical treatment is only recommended for morbid obesity or those with BMI of 35 to 40 kg/m2. The procedure may be vertical banded gastroplasty or VBGP and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass or RYGBM. However, although with higher risk of complications, gastric bypass is known to be more successful as weight-reduction operation (Debas 2004, p.85). As mentioned earlier, medical treatment of obesity is commonly based on caloric restriction, thus reduction of caloric intake through proper or healthy diet may have the same effect. Most therapeutic treatments are aim at reducing weight by dietary restrictions and alteration of eating habit where the total caloric intake is being limited below the normal requirement of a person. For instance, a diet of 1000-11000 calories a day may result to weight loss of 1 kg a week without aggressive medical treatment (Chopra & Ganguli 2002, p.236). Diet therefore has a preventive effect on obesity and may be a more appropriate approach to obesity problem since drugs and surgery have higher risk of complications. Since diet can lead to deficiency syndrome, Vitamins should be added to the dietary regimen. Moreover, causes of obesity suggest that protective factors such as limiting protein, fat, and carbohydrate intake is more effective. 5. References Aznar L, (2010), Epidemiology of Obesity in Children and Adolescents: Prevalence and Etiology, Springer, Germany Burniat W, (2002), Child and adolescent obesity: causes and consequences, prevention and management, Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom Byrne C. & Wild S, (2011), The Metabolic Syndrome, John Wiley & Sons, United Kingdom Chopra C. & Ganguli C, (2002), A Handbook of Medical Treatment, Academic Publishers, United States Debas H, (2004), Gastrointestinal surgery: Pathophysiology and management, Springer, Germany Ekoe J, Rewers M, Williams R, & Zimmet P, (2008), The Epidemiology of Diabetes Mellitus, John Wiley and Sons, United Kingdom Fairburn C. & Brownell K, (2002), Eating disorders and obesity: a comprehensive handbook, Guilford Press, United States Foreyt J, (2003), Lifestyle Obesity Management, Wiley-Blackwell, United States Freemark M, (2010), Pediatric Obesity: Etiology, Pathogenesis, and Treatment, Springer, Germany Hills A. & King N, (2007), Children, obesity and exercise: prevention, treatment, and management of childhood and adolescent obesity, Taylor & Francis, United Kingdom Jeyakumar S, Vajreswari A, Sesikeran B, & Giridharan N, (2005), Vitamin A supplementation induces adipose tissue loss through apoptosis in lean but not in obese rates of the WNIN/Ob strain, Journal of Molecular Endocrinology, 35, pp.391-398 Kiess W, Marcus C, & Wabitsch M, (2004), Obesity in Childhood and Adolescence, Karger Publishers, Germany MedicineNet.com (2011), Recipes: Breakfast Foods, online, available at http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=86263 MyRecipes.com, (2011), Chicken Dinner Salad, online, available at http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-dinner-salad-10000002011046/ O’Dea J. & Eriksen M, (2010), Childhood obesity prevention: international research, controversies, and interventions, Oxford University Press, United Kingdom Sakamuri V, Ananthathmakula P, Veetil G, & Ayyalasomayajula V, (2011), Vitamin A decreases pre-receptor amplification of glucocorticoids in obesity: study on the effect of vitamin A on 11beta-hydroxysteroidm dehydrogenase type 1 activity in liver and visceral fat of WNIN/Ob obese rats, Nutrition Journal, 10, 70, pp. 2-9 Schauss A, (2006), Obesity: Why are men getting pregnant? Basic Health Publications, United States Schnitzer J, (2003), Natural cure of obesity by health, J.G. Schnitzer, Germany SparkRecipes, (2011), Cheesy, online, available at http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=141 Stern J. & Kazaks A, (2009), Obesity: A reference handbook, ABC-CLIO, United States Weightloss.com.au, (2011), Oriental Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe, online, available at http://weightloss.com.au/recipes/lunch-recipes/chicken-noodle-soup-recipe.html WHO, (2000), Obesity: Preventing and Managing the Global Epidemic, World Health Organization, Switzerland Williams G. & Fruhbeck G, (2009), Obesity: Science to Practice, John Wiley & Sons, Italy Wu X, Xu X, Shen J, & Perricone N, (2010), Enhance Weight Loss from a Dietary Supplement Containing Standardized Phaseolous vulgaris Extract in Overweight Men and Women, The Journal of Applied Research, Vol. 10. No. 2, pp.73-78 Zhou J, Zhao L, Watson P, Zhang Q, & Lappe J, (2010), The effect of calcium and vitamin D supplementation on obesity in postmenopausal women: secondary analysis for a large-scale, placebo controlled, double-blind, 4 year longitudinal clinical trial, Nutrition & Metabolism, Osteoporosis Centre, Creighton University Medical Centre, pp. 2-19 Read More