Nutrition and Weight Control

Healthy is Easy with the Right Help

The overweight and obesity epidemic is a worldwide problem. There are no official statistics for spending on diet products, but estimates vary from $40 to $100 billion in the US alone, much of that on scams and fad diets that promise the impossible.

Research shows that 95% of people who have lost weight find that they regain it back when they return to their normal eating habits.

Obesity rates in Australia have more than doubled over the past 20 years. According to Fitness Australia over 7 million adults are jeopardising their health by excessive weight. As a result children are following their parents examples and it is estimated that over one in 5 children are obese. The rates of overweight and obesity are rapidly increasing and it is estimated that, at the current rate of increase, about 75 per cent of the Australian population will be overweight or obese by 2020

Increased Risk of Chronic Disease

Obesity increases the risk of many chronic and potentially lethal diseases. Most of these diseases are preventable with attention to lifestyle factors including proper nutrition and regular exercise. The more body fat you are carrying, the higher the risk to your health. However, it appears that the amount of weight gained throughout the adult years also contributes to the risk. For example, a middle-aged person who weighs 10kg more than they did in their early 20s has an increased risk of high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes and coronary heart disease.

Range of diseases

Some of the many chronic conditions and diseases associated with obesity include:

Insulin resistance
High blood pressure
Atherosclerosis
Cardiovascular disease
Stroke
Particular cancers such as breast, endometrial and colon
Type 2 diabetes (non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus)
Gall bladder disease
Polycystic ovarian syndrome
Musculoskeletal problems such as osteoarthritis and back pain
Gout
Cataracts
Stress incontinence
Sleep apnoea

According to a report by Access Economics commissioned by Diabetes Australia in October 2006, obesity was already having a major impact:

102,204 Australians had Type 2 diabetes as a result of being obese (10% of all people with Type 2 diabetes);
Over 379,000 Australians had Cardiovascular Disease as a result of being obese (obesity causing 14% of hypertension, 12% of Coronary Heart Disease and 12% of stroke);
Over 225,000 Australians had osteoarthritis as a result of being obese (14% of all people with osteoarthritis); and
20,430 Australians had a cancer as a result of being obese (obesity causing 13% of colorectal and kidney cancers, and 16% of breast and uterine cancers).

If that isn’t incentive enough to lose that excess weight statistics show that overweight people are usually given lower paying jobs, get lower salaries, receive little in raises, and are looked down upon by 40 percent of fellow employees and employers.

Obesity – The Costs

Obesity costs Australian taxpayers an estimated $3.75 billion every year in direct health costs. Indirect health costs are harder to estimate. They include work absenteeism, production lost to premature death, and the hundreds of millions of dollars that Australians spend each year on weight management programs.

Stop Dieting and Start Living!

Weight Management and Nutrition programs aim to raise the awareness of diet related disease and health risks, combat obesity, and promote good nutrition so individuals are able to take charge of their lives and look towards a healthier future. They teach you how to apply the necessary principles to a healthier eating pattern and lose any extra kilos in the process.

There are many ways to lose weight, but it is not always easy to stick to an eating plan or even keep the weight off. The key to successful weight loss is making changes in your eating and physical activity habits that you can keep up for the rest of your life.

A good weight management program from an accredited dietitian or nutritionist shows you HOW TO:

ACHIEVE weight loss realistically
PREVENT snacking and minimise the sensation of hunger
STICK to the plan and head towards success
CREATE an environment for success
MAINTAIN your goal weight
MINIMISE the loss of lean muscle and energy
IDENTIFY eating triggers that got you to where you are now

Your own personal coach could make dieting a thing of the past.

Go for 2&5® Campaign for Cancer Prevention

The Go for 2&5 campaign encourages increased consumption of fruit and vegetables. ‘Go for 2&5 ’ refers to the recommended minimum daily intake of two serves of fruit and five serves of vegetables for Australian adults.

In NSW, half of adults (55% males and 42% females) do not reach the recommended two serves of fruit each day, and only 7% of adults (5% males and 10% females) eat the recommended five serves of vegetables. About a third of children do not eat the recommended serves of fruit and fewer than a quarter consume the recommended serves of vegetables.

Sustaining a long term habit of eating a variety of fruit and vegetables can help prevent: