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Chapter 9 – Weight Management
Student Learning Objectives for Chapter 9
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Describe the effects basal metabolism and physical activity have on calorie expenditure.
Name at least three ways/methods of measuring body composition.
Describe the problems associated with being significantly underweight (too little body fat).
Describe a dietary strategy for reducing caloric intake while maintaining nutrient density.
List the factors involved in a sound weight loss program.
Chapter 9 Summary
The escalating epidemic of obesity results in thousands of preventable deaths each year. Many factors,
including genetics, influence body weight, but excess energy intake and physical inactivity are the
leading causes of overweight and obesity. Both underweight and overweight increase the risk of
incurring various illnesses as well as various social and psychological stigmas.
A Closer Look at Obesity
The WHO considers obesity an epidemic with many contributing factors: genetics, large portion sizes,
availability of energy-dense foods, sedentary lifestyles, and a built environment that fails to facilitate
fitness.
Problems Associated with Weight
Underweight renders a person more vulnerable to physical stressors. Overweight increases risks of
hypertension, heart disease and diabetes in those who are genetically predisposed, and has also been
associated with gallbladder disease and breast cancer.
What Is a Healthful Weight?
To determine health risks associated with overweight and obesity, health professionals use three factors:
body mass index, waist circumference and current health status. The latter may include heart disease,
type 2 diabetes, high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, cigarette smoking, osteoarthritis, gallstones,
or sleep apnea. An initial goal for treatment of overweight and obese people with risk factors is to reduce
body weight by about 10% at a rate of about 1 to 2 pounds per week. An overweight person who wants to
lose weight needs to understand the concept of total energy needs as well as successful weight-loss
strategies.
Energy Balance
Unhealthy weight results from an unbalanced energy budget (food energy in vs. energy expended on
basal metabolism and activity). While the majority of energy used by the body fuels basal metabolism—
accounting for 60%—the person’s physical activity level is important as well, and can help determine
whether that person will have a healthy or unhealthy weight.
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Causes of Obesity
In general, two schools of thought address the problem of obesity’s causes. One attributes it to inside-thebody causes (genetics, set-point theory, fat-cell theory); the other, to environmental factors (external cue
theory). Eating behavior may be a response not only to hunger or appetite but also to complex human
sensations such as yearning, craving, or compulsion. No doubt, the causes of obesity are complex and
many causes may contribute to the problem in a single person. Given this complexity, it is obvious that
there is no panacea for successful weight maintenance. The top priority should be prevention, but where
prevention has failed, the treatment of obesity must involve a three-pronged approach, including
adopting healthful eating habits, moderate levels of exercise, and behavior change.
Weight Gain and Loss
Weight change may be related to any of the body’s components, including fat and lean tissues, water and
bone minerals. Excess energy is stored within the body as limited quantities of glycogen and virtually
unlimited quantities of fat. During a fast, glycogen is soon exhausted, and then the body metabolizes fat
plus muscle tissue, because the nervous system cannot use fat for fuel. If the fast continues, the body
adapts by manufacturing ketone bodies, which the brain can use when glucose is unavailable.
Successful Weight-Loss Strategies
The problem with going on a rigid diet with a goal of, say, a 15-pound weight loss in 3 weeks is that it’s a
quick fix—the dieter attempts to gain a temporary solution to what is typically a chronic problem. People
are attracted to fad diets because of the dramatic weight loss that occurs within the first few days. Such
people would be disillusioned if they realized that the major part of this weight loss is a loss of body
protein, along with quantities of water and important minerals. A more healthful alternative is to develop
habits gradually that you can live with permanently and that will help you shed pounds and keep them
off over the long run. Instead of measuring your success by the needle on the scale, gauge your progress
by the strides you make in adopting good eating and exercise habits as well as healthful attitudes about
yourself and your body. Criteria for success are permanent changes in eating and exercise habits and
maintenance of the goal weight over time.
Medications to assist obese persons with weight loss include, among others, Meridia, an appetitesuppressing drug, and Xenical, which reduces the body’s absorption of fat. Treatment of severe obesity
includes medically supervised, very-low-calorie diets providing fewer than 800 calories or surgery on the
stomach to reduce its volume.
Weight Gain Strategies
Healthful weight gain consist of building up muscle mass through weight training and increased calorie
intake.
The Eating Disorders
The term eating disorder involves a wide spectrum of conditions, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia
nervosa, and binge-eating disorder. Although the various conditions differ in their origin and
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consequences, they appear to have similarities among them—all of the conditions exhibit an excessive
preoccupation with body weight, a fear of body fatness, and a distorted body image. Some researchers
suspect that a complex interplay among environmental, social, and perhaps genetic factors triggers the
development of eating disorders, mostly in women.
Lecture Notes for Chapter 9
Chapter resource: PowerPoint lecture presentation from Multimedia Manager
Enrichment resources: If you plan to discuss energy metabolism in greater detail than it is presented in
the textbook, consider using the following animations from the Multimedia Manager: “Glucose to
Pyruvate,” “Fatty Acids to Acetyl-CoA,” “The Electron Transport Chain and ATP Synthesis,” and “The
TCA Cycle.”
I.
A Closer Look at Obesity
Key terms: overweight, obesity
Resources: 5th ed. TA 99; CNN Today: Nutrition Vol. 2: “Obesity Epidemic”
A. The World Health Organization describes obesity as “an escalating epidemic” and one of the
greatest neglected public health problems of our time.
B. Obesity is a disease with multiple health risks, ranking second only to smoking as a cause of
preventable death.
C. The leading causes of overweight and obesity are genetics, excess energy intake, and physical
inactivity.
II. Problems Associated with Weight
Key term: underweight
A. Underweight
1. The underweight person has minimal body fat stores and will be at a disadvantage in
situations where energy reserves might be needed.
2. Other problems include menstrual irregularities, infertility, and osteoporosis.
B. Overweight and obesity
1. The physical risks of overweight and obesity are greater for some people than for others,
depending on inherited susceptibilities to conditions such as high blood pressure, high blood
cholesterol, and diabetes.
2. Obesity also increases the risk of heart disease because excess fat pads crowd the heart
muscle and the lungs within the body cavity.
a. The heart has to work harder to deliver oxygen and nutrients.
b. The lungs cannot expand fully, which limits the oxygen intake of each breath, causing the
heart to work even harder to pump the needed amount of oxygen to the other body
parts.
3. Gallbladder disease can be brought on in susceptible people merely by excess weight.
4. Obesity also increases a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer.
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5.
6.
Obesity is seen as a social and economic handicap in some parts of North America.
Obese individuals suffer discrimination in many areas, which can harm them
psychologically.
III. What is a Healthful Weight?
Key terms: underwater weighing, skinfold test, bioelectrical impedance, central obesity, body mass index
(BMI), waist circumference


There are many problems in defining a healthful weight.
Some societies value fatness; others value thinness to the point of obsession.
A. Body Weight versus Body Fat
1. There is a need to define obesity in terms of people’s body fatness rather than in terms of
their weight.
2. The health risks of obesity refer to people who are overfat.
a. On average, men having over 25% body fat and women having over 33% body fat are
considered obese.
b. More desirable measures are 12% to 20% body fat for most men and 20% to 30% body fat
for most women.
B. Measuring Body Fat
1. A very accurate way to measure body fat is to obtain a measure of the body’s density, weight
divided by volume.
2. To obtain the body’s volume, you need to immerse the whole body in a tank of water, known
as hydrostatic or underwater weighing.
3. Most health professionals use the skinfold test, using a caliper, a pinching device that
measures the thickness of a fold of fat in certain areas.
4. An alternative method for assessing body fatness is bioelectrical impedance, in which
electrodes are attached to a person’s hand and foot.
C. Distribution of Body Fat
1. The distribution of body fat has health implications.
2. Excess fat around the middle, called central obesity, is associated with increased health
hazards.
a. These body types are apple-shaped or pear-shaped.
3. People who store most of their excess fat around the abdomen (typically men) are at greater
risk for developing diabetes, hypertension, elevated levels of blood cholesterol, and heart
disease then people who store excess fat elsewhere on the body.
D. Weighing in for Health
Resources: 5th ed. TA 100, Scorecard 9
1.
2.
A person’s health risk is dependent on three factors: body weight, amount and location of
body fat, and current health status.
The first measure is the body mass index (BMI), which is an index of your weight in relation
to your height.
a. Overweight is defined as a BMI of 20 to 29.9.
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3.
4.
5.
6.
b. Obesity is defined as a BMI of 30 or above.
c. BMI does not account for location of fat in the body.
Waist circumference provides information about the distribution of fat in the abdomen.
a. Excess fat in the abdomen is a greater health risk than excess fat in the hips and thighs.
b. The extra abdominal fat crowds the abdominal organs and its proximity to the liver
means that when metabolized, abdominal fat can raise blood cholesterol levels and lower
the body’s sensitivity to insulin.
c. Disease risk rises significantly with a waist circumference of over 35 inches in women
and over 40 inches in men.
Another factor to consider is the presence of weight-related health problems and risk factors
for diseases.
a. These may include: family health history, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood
cholesterol, high blood pressure, cigarette smoking, osteoarthritis, gallstones, or sleep
apnea.
An initial goal for treatment of overweight and obese people with risk factors is to reduce
body weight by about 10% at a rate of about 1 to 2 pounds per week.
For overweight individuals, losing as little as 5 to 10% of their body weight may improve
many of the problems linked to being overweight.
IV. Energy Balance
Key terms: basal metabolism, basal metabolic rate (BMR)
Resources: 5th ed. TA 101, PTC 9-1; Animations from Multimedia Manager: “Energy Balance and Body
Composition,” “Balancing Energy In and Energy Out”
A. Introduction
1. You store extra energy as fat if you eat more food energy in a day than you use to fuel your
metabolic and other activities, and likewise you lose stored fat only if you eat less food
energy in a day than you use as fuel.
2. For each 3,500 calories you eat in excess of need, you store 1 pound of body fat.
3. The body spends energy in 2 major ways: to fuel its metabolic activities and to fuel its muscle
activities. A small amount of energy is used to digest, absorb, transport, process, and store
food you eat, which is known as the thermic effect of food.
B. Basal Metabolism
1. About 60% or more of the energy the average person spends goes to support the ongoing
metabolic work of the body’s cells; this is basal metabolism.
a. The beating of the heart, the inhaling and exhaling of air, the maintenance of body
temperature, and the sending of nerve and hormonal messages to direct these activities
are the basal processes that maintain life.
b. Basal metabolic needs are large, with 1,200 to 1,400 calories per day spent to support
basal metabolism.
2. The basal metabolic rate (BMR) is influenced by a number of factors.
a. The younger a person is, the higher the BMR.
b. The BMR is most pronounced during the growth spurts that take place during infancy,
puberty, and pregnancy.
c. Body composition also influences metabolic rate.
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d. The more the lean tissue, the higher the BMR; the more fat tissue, the lower the BMR.
3. Men generally have a faster metabolic rate than women do because men have a greater
percentage of lean tissue.
4. Fever increases the energy needs of cells, whose increased activities to generate heat and
fight off infection speed up the metabolic rate.
5. Fasting and constant malnutrition lower the metabolic rate.
6. Some hormones influence metabolism by increasing the demands of every cell and thus raise
the metabolic rate.
7. The activity of the thyroid gland also influences the BMR; the less thyroid hormone secretion,
the lower the energy requirement for maintenance of basal functions.
C. Voluntary Activities
1. If you increase your physical activity consistently, you will also increase the energy your
body spends on metabolic activity because you will have an increase in lean body mass.
2. The energy spent on physical activity is the energy spent moving the body’s skeletal muscles,
and the extra energy spent to speed up the heartbeat and respiration rate as needed.
a. The number of calories spent depends on 3 factors: the amount of muscle mass required,
the amount of weight being moved, and the amount of time the activity takes.
D. Total Energy Needs
Resource: “Energy Needs” worksheet
1.
2.
3.
If you want to increase your basal metabolic output, make exercise a daily habit.
Your body composition will gradually change and your basal energy output will pick up the
pace as well.
The amount of fat stored in a person’s body depends on the balance between the total food
energy the person has taken in and the total energy the person has expelled.
V. Causes of Obesity
Key terms: set-point theory, fat cell theory, lipoprotein lipase (LPL), external cue theory, hunger, appetite,
satiety, hypothalamus, arousal
Resources: Suggested Activity 9-3, Crossword 9; CNN Today: Nutrition Vol. 3: “Obesity as a Public Health
Issue,” “Fast Food Under Fire”

The problems of obesity are attributed to inside-the-body causes and environmental factors.
A. Genetics
Resource: ABC video clip from Multimedia Manager: “Obesity and Genetics”
1.
The theory that a hereditary, inside-the-body basis for obesity may exist is supported by the
existence of animal strains that are genetically fat.
2. In humans, studies have shown that identical twins, whether raised together or apart, tend to
have similar weight-gain patterns.
B. Set-Point Theory
1. One popular inside-the-body theory is the set-point theory.
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2.
Some researchers suggest that the body “wants” to maintain a certain amount of fat and
regular eating behaviors and hormonal actions to defend its “set-point.”
3. The theory implies that science should search inside obese people to find the causes of the
problems, perhaps in their hunger-regulating mechanism.
C. Leptin
1. Researchers have identified a gene named ob (for obese) that appears to produce a hormone
called leptin, after the Greek word for slender.
a. Leptin seems to tell the body to stop eating when it is released from fat cells.
2. As body fat stores increase, blood leptin increases; likewise, when body fat stores decrease,
blood leptin decreases, and the brain responds by stimulating appetite and decreasing energy
expenditure.
3. Overweight people may have a defective form of this gene (or may be unresponsive to its
hormone), which fails to give an accurate report of the size of the fat cells to the brain, thus
making the set-point too high and resulting in weight gain.
D. Fat Cell Theory
1. Some overweight infants become overweight adults, but most grow out of their obesity in
childhood.
2. An overweight child, however, is more likely to remain overweight into adulthood.
3. Researchers propose the fat cell theory that childhood obesity is persistent because early
overfeeding may cause fat cells to increase abnormally in number.
4. The number of fat cells is thought to become fixed by adulthood; afterwards, a gain or loss of
weight either increases or diminishes the size of the fat cells.
5. Fat cells of obese people contain higher levels of the enzyme lipoprotein lipase (LPL), which
determines the rate at which adipose cells store fat.
a. LPL activity rises further with weight loss, enhancing the body’s ability to regain the lost
weight.
E. Environment
1. People may overeat or under-exercise because they are pushed to do so by factors in their
surroundings.
2. Some people may have inherited or learned a way of resisting external stimuli to eat, while
others have not.
3. A study found a positive correlation between over-fatness and a diet offering a wide variety
of snacks and sweets.
a. This is the basis of the external cue theory.
b. In some people, the internal regulatory systems are easily overridden by environmental
influences.
F. A Closer Look at Eating Behavior
1. Hunger is a drive programmed into us by our heredity, but learned response to appetite can
teach us to ignore or over-respond to our hunger.
2. The ways people respond to hunger and appetite determine whether they eat too much, too
little, or just enough to maintain their weight.
3. A third factor, satiety, signals that it is time to stop eating.
4. The hypothalamus, a brain area, regulates food behavior.
a. It is a center that communicates with both the hormonal and nervous systems.
b. It is important to eating because damage to the hypothalamus produces derangements in
eating behavior and body weight.
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5.
6.
7.
8.
Eating behavior may be a response not only to hunger and appetite, but also to complex
human sensations.
a. Often eating is used to relive boredom or to ward off depression.
b. Some people respond to anxiety or to any kind of arousal by eating.
Stress may also directly promote the accumulation of body fat.
a. The stress hormones favor the breakdown of energy stores (glycogen and fat) to glucose
and fatty acids, which can be used to fuel the muscular activity of fight or flight.
b. If a person fails to use the fuel in physical exertion, however, the body cannot turn these
fragments back into glycogen; it has no alternative but to convert them to fat.
c. Each time glucose is pulled out of storage in response to stress and then transformed into
fat, the lowered glucose level or exhausted glycogen will signal hunger, and the person
will eat again soon after.
The most important single contributor to the obesity problem in our country is underactivity.
Some obese people eat less than lean people do, but they are so extraordinarily inactive that
they still manage to store surplus calories.
VI. Weight Gain and Loss
Key term: ketosis
A. Introduction
1. Changes in body weight reflect shifts in many different materials - not only fat but also fluid,
bone minerals, and lean tissues such as muscle.
2. Weight is gained or lost in different body tissues, depending on how a person goes about it.
B. Weight Gain
Resources: 5th ed. TA 102; CNN Today: Nutrition Vol. 2: “Freshman 15”
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
When you eat more calories then you need, the energy nutrients contribute to body stores.
Carbohydrate is broken down to glucose for absorption.
a. Inside the body, glucose may be built up to glycogen or converted to fat and stored as
such.
Fat is broken down to its components for absorption.
a. Inside the body, these components are converted to fat storage.
Protein is broken down to its basic units (amino acids) for absorption.
a. Inside the body, these units may be used to replace body proteins.
b. Those amino acids that are not used cannot be stored as protein for later; they lose their
nitrogen and are converted to fat.
Although 3 kinds of materials enter the body, they are stored for later use in only 2 forms:
glycogen and fat.
Of the 3 energy nutrients, fat from food is especially easy for the body to store as fat tissue.
If you choose to overeat, there may be some advantage to overeating carbohydrate-rich foods
such as vegetables or legumes rather than overeating fat-rich butter or sour cream - you may
deposit less fat.
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C. Weight Loss and Fasting
Resources: 5th ed. TA 103 & 104
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
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Your body draws on its stored supply of nutrients to keep going when you stop eating.
a. The between-meal interval is ideally about 4 to 6 hours, about the length of time it takes
to use up most of the available liver glycogen, or 12 to 14 hours at night, when body
systems are slowed down and the need for energy is lower.
If a person doesn’t eat for a long period of time, the body makes one adjustment after
another.
a. The first adjustment is to use the liver’s glycogen.
b. Another alternative source of energy would be the abundant fat stores most people carry.
c. However, this fuel is no use to the nervous system because while the muscles and other
organs use fat as fuel, the nervous system only possess enzymes to convert protein to
glucose.
d. As the fast continues, the body turns to its own lean tissues to keep up the supply of
glucose.
One reason why people lose weight so dramatically within the first three days of a fast is that
they are devouring their own protein tissues as fuel.
a. Since protein contains only half as many calories per pound as fat, it disappears twice as
fast.
b. Also, with each pound of body protein, 3 to 4 pounds of associated water are lost.
If the body were to continue to consume itself at this rate, death would ensue within about 10
days.
However, the body’s last resort is to convert fat stores into a form it can use to help feed the
nervous system; this is known as ketosis.
a. Ketosis is an adaptation to fasting or carbohydrate deprivation.
b. Instead of breaking down fat molecules all the way to carbon dioxide and water, as it
normally does, the body takes partially broken down fat fragments, combines them into
ketone bodies, and lets them circulate in the bloodstream.
c. The advantage is that about half of the brain’s cells can use these compounds for energy.
d. Because of ketosis, an initially healthy person totally deprived of food can live for as long
as 6 to 8 weeks; however, ketosis may be harmful to the body by upsetting the acid-base
balance of the blood.
Fasting is not the best way to lose weight.
a. Even in ketosis, the body’s lean tissue continues to be lost at a rapid rate to supply
glucose to those nervous systems cells that cannot use ketones as fuel.
b. As well, the body becomes conservative during a fast and slows its metabolism so as to
lose as little energy as it possibly can.
c. A well-designed low-calorie diet, accompanied by the appropriate exercise program, has
actually been observed to promote the same rate of weight loss as, and a faster rate of fat
loss than, a total fast.
VII. Nutrition Action - Diet Confusion: Weighing the Evidence
Resource: PTC 9-3
A. Introduction
1. Many diet programs promise truly unbelievable results with little or no effort. With an
increasing awareness of weight gain, many diet programs promising dramatic weight loss
are available to consumers.
2. Most diets produce weight loss albeit temporary, while some diets may actually be harmful.
B. How Do Diets Work?
Diets work because people create a negative energy balance by either restricting certain food
groups , portion control, prepackaged meal plans or some combination of these.
C. What are Common Diets?
Resources: ABC video clip from Multimedia Manager: “Diet Revolution”; CNN Today: Nutrition Vol. 3:
“Fad Diets”; Vol. 2: “Diet Debate,” “Web Diet”
1.
Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution
a. This diet encourages consumption of high-fat meats, cheeses and fat, while severely
restricting carbohydrates.
b. The premise is that this diet will produce a “benign dietary ketoacidosis,” which leads to
a decrease in hunger and ultimately food consumption.
c. This diet may produce bad breath, headaches, nausea and fatigue while exacerbating
gout and kidney disease, not to mention heart disease from the fat.
2. The Zone Diet - separates foods into “macronutrient blocks.”
3. The South Beach Diet
a. A somewhat more healthful version of the Atkins diet with an incorporation of lower fat
protein options (like chicken and fisk) plus whole grains, vegetables and fruit.
b. Some fruits are restricted and the initial phases are more restrictive then the later ones.
4. Weight Watchers
a. Dieters use a list of core foods or point system to help reduce caloric intake.
b. Emphasis is on balance of all foods and caloric restriction.
5. Dr. Ornish Eat More, Weigh Less
a. Weight loss is based on consuming a very-low-fat diet (10% or less).
b. It contains little meat, oils, nuts, butter or dairy fat, sweets or alcohol.
6. Eat Right For Your Blood Type - based on the claim that your blood type determines the
types of foods you should eat or how your body absorbs nutrients.
7. Dr. Phil’s Ultimate Weight Solution - This diet book focuses on “Keys to Weight Loss
Freedom,” but does not include defined meal plans or recipes.
8. The New Glucose Revolution - This eating plan encourages consumption of low-glycemic
foods, such as beans, pasta, most fruits, and vegetables.
D. A recent study comparing the Atkins, Ornish, Weight Watchers, and Zone showed that all diets
produced moderate weight loss and heart disease risk reduction.
1. Adherence varied, and the best results were in those with the highest adherence rates.
2. Risk reduction was more closely associated with weight reduction rather than diet type.
3. This indicates that restrictive diets are difficult to follow for long periods.
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E. How Can You Evaluate a Diet to Determine Whether It Is Healthful?
1. Does the weight-loss program systemically eliminate one group of foods from a person’s
eating pattern? If a food plan eliminates any group, it’s highly likely that several essential
nutrients would be missing from such a dietary plan.
2. Does the weight-loss program encourage specific supplements or foods that can be
purchased only from selected distributors? The supplements or foods often contain
ingredients that may be harmful or unproven.
3. Does the weight-loss program tout magic or miracle foods or products that burn fat? The
only way to burn fat is to increase your physical activity level or decrease the amount of food
that you consume.
4. Does the weight-loss program promote bizarre quantities of only one food or one type of
food? Some diets include eating only one food each day or unlimited amounts of certain
foods, such as grapefruit of cabbage soup.
5. Does the weight-loss program have rigid menus? If a diet has specific meal plans and times
to eat, it will be difficult to incorporate individual taste preferences.
6. Does the weight-loss program promote specific food combinations? Diets that prohibit or
mandate specific combinations of foods restrict a dieter’s options and are unfounded
nutritionally.
7. Does the weight-loss program promise a weight loss of more than 2 pounds a week for an
extended period of time? A realistic plan promotes from one half to two pounds per week.
8. Does the weight-loss program provide a warning to people with diabetes, high blood
pressure, or other health problems? People with pre-existing health problems need to consult
a physician before beginning a diet to insure that the diet doesn’t exacerbate their problems.
9. Does the weight-loss program encourage or promote increased physical activity? Most
successful weight-loss programs encourage life-style changes like increased physical activity.
10. Does the weigh-loss program encourage an intake that is very low in calories (below 800 a
day)? Very-low-calorie diets are designed for the severely obese or obesity with other healthrelated problems. Such diets need supplementation and medical supervision.
F. What can you do?
1. Although weight loss may prove difficult for many people, several diets and strategies have
proven successful.
2. The most successful as reported by the USDA and National Weight Control Registry involve
weight loss of at least 30 pounds maintained for at least a year.
3. There are several steps that you can take to prepare yourself for dealing with fad diets:
a. Be familiar with the current fad diets. Study the diets so you can determine fact from
fallacy.
b. Seek out appropriate weight-loss strategies and programs.
1. Most successful programs are based on about 1400-1500 calories a day.
2. Weight Watchers has been cited as a good program for offering a variety of food
options.
3. The Internet may also prove helpful for people who can’t attend regular meetings.
4. The DASH diet has proven helpful for lowering blood pressure and it is free online.
5. Of the people registered with the National Weight Control Registry, about half the
people reported weight loss without any formal program, indicating the more
individualized the program, the more likely it is to succeed.
6. Also, most successful weight-loss programs include regular exercise.
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c.
4.
Refer to websites that list resources for determining whether a diet is a fad, e.g., the
Federal Trade Commission (FTC), American Heart Association (AHA).
Report fraudulent or deceptive weight-loss claims to the FTC.
VIII. Drugs and Weight Loss
Resources: Suggested Activity 9-2; ABC video clips from Multimedia Manager: “Weight Loss Ads,”
“Ephedrine”
A. The ideal drug should be safe, free of undesirable side effects and abuse potential, effective at
reducing body fat, and effective for long-term use in the treatment of obesity.
B. Numerous other diet aids on the market include products such as spirulina, inositol, chromium
picolinate, ginseng, and numerous other herbs.
1. None have been proven effective in aiding weight loss.
C. Herbal preparations in the United States are produced and marketed without regulations to
ensure their safety or effectiveness.
1. Some side effects can range from nausea and headaches to heart attacks and death.
2. For example, the Chinese herb ephedra, commonly called ma huang, contains ephedrine, a
stimulant that mimics the action of the drug phentermine.
3. Ephedrine can cause tremors, insomnia, severe headaches, high blood pressure, heart attacks,
and stroke.
4. More than 800 reports of illness and dozens of deaths are linked to ma huang use, and for
that reason the FDA and Canada ban ma huang.
D. Other herbal preparations sold as dieter’s tea contain senna, rhubarb root, cascara, or buckthorn.
1. The “tea” has a laxative effect and can cause dehydration, diarrhea, nausea, fainting, and in
some cases even death.
IX. Surgery and Weight Loss
Key terms: gastroplasty, liposuction
Resources: New TA 28; CNN Today: Nutrition Vol. 2: “Obesity Surgery”
A. Some obese people request surgery in desperation.
B. One operation, intestinal bypass surgery, involves removing or disconnecting a portion of the
small intestine to reduce absorption.
1. After bypass surgery, the person can continue to overeat but will absorb fewer calories.
2. Dangerous side effects from this procedure are many, including liver failure, massive and
frequent diarrhea, urinary stones, intestinal infections, and malnutrition.
C. Another more common operation, gastroplasty, involves stapling the stomach to make it smaller,
thus forcing the person to eat less.
1. Nausea and vomiting occur if the person continues to overeat following the procedure.
D. Another approach involves cosmetic surgery, such as liposuction, in which the surgeon uses a
small hollow tube to suction out fatty tissue from beneath the skin.
1. Sometimes it can produce pleasing results, but sometimes it can produce a figure in which
one part of the body is disproportionately thin relative to the others.
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E. Surgery is appropriate in some instances, but after surgery, the same person resides within the
skin as before.
1. A changed appearance does not guarantee changed eating habits, a better personality,
reduced interpersonal conflicts, or any other improvements in the quality of one’s life.
X. Successful Weight-Loss Strategies
Resource: Suggested Activity 9-4

The secret to losing weight safely and permanently is a three-pronged approach involving
healthful eating habits, exercise, and behavior change.
A. Eat Well Be Well - Never Say “Diet”
1. Many experts say that the solution to dieting is to not focus on losing a certain amount of
weight within a set period of time.
2. Adopt a nondiet approach to weight loss. A more healthful alternative is to gradually
develop habits that you can live with permanently and that will help you shed pounds and
keep them off over the long run.
3. Set achievable goals. Few people recognize the attitude problems that often go hand in hand
with restrictive dieting and can stand in the way of long-term weight loss.
a. One of the most common is “all-or-nothing,” or “on-or-off,” thinking.
b. When it comes to food, the attitude translates into good or bad, on or off limits, diet or
junk food.
c. Often, a person who thinks this way sets the stage for failure by trying to live up to
extremely rigid, unrealistic goals.
4. Focus on health rather than appearance. Another type of attitude that can thwart efforts to
achieve a healthy weight is the “lookist” attitude, which is the notion that weight and
appearance are the determinants of a person’s worth and happiness.
a. Using weight and appearance as a measure of self-worth and happiness can be extremely
destructive.
b. Each “slip-up” whittles away at the person’s self-esteem, which in turn may lead to
feelings of rejection, depression, and social isolation, which in turn may prompt a binge,
and so forth.
c. And even a person who drops a desired number of pounds may then realize that she still
has many of the same problems as before, which can lead to depression and loss of selfesteem.
5. Although it can be difficult to overcome society’s prejudices about weight, striving to adopt
the ideals of the healthy self, regardless of your weight, can be a major step in helping you
take care of your mental and physical health.
B. Individualize Your Weight Loss Plan: Meal Planning
Resources: New TA 29, PTC 9-2, Recipes 9-1, 9-2, 9-3, 9-4 & 9-5, Suggested Activity 9-1
1.
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Lifestyle changes can be called successful only if the pounds do not return; think of it as an
eating plan you will adopt for life.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
For the person wanting to lose weight, a deficit of 500 calories a day for seven days (3,500
calories a week) is enough to lose a pound of body fat a week.
If you were to spend an extra 250 calories a day in some form of exercise, you could increase
this energy deficit.
Choose a calorie level you can live with.
a. The 10-calorie rule will enable you to lose a pound or two a week while supporting your
basal metabolism.
b. Allow 10 calories a day for each pound of your present body weight.
c. As you lose weight, you can gradually adjust calories downward to keep losing at this
rate.
Put nutritional adequacy high on your list of priorities.
a. This means including foods that are rich in valuable nutrients.
b. Researchers have also shown that reducing the intake of fat alone can promote significant
weight loss, especially coupled with a high-complex carbohydrate diet.
If you include alcohol or other empty-calorie items in your eating plan, limit them to no more
than 150 calories a day.
It is important to eat regularly and, if at all possible, to eat before you become very hungry.
a. Instead of having three large meals a day, try having four or five small meals instead.
Keep a record of what you have eaten each day for a least a week or two until your habits are
automatic.
Aim for Gradual Weight Loss
a. Do not weigh yourself more than once a week.
b. Even on a weight-loss program, most people experience some ups and downs.
c. It is the gradual, long-term weight loss that matters.
Expect to reach a plateau. Many dieters experience a temporary plateau after about 3 weeks,
but not because they are slipping but because they have gained water weight temporarily
while they are still losing body fat.
A more healthful alternative to crash dieting is to gradually develop healthful, permanent
lifestyle habits that will help you to lose weight and keep it off.
Aim for a positive gain in lean body mass.
a. Working out produces an increase in muscle which may be reflected in a weight gain
when a loss is expected.
b. However, this is a positive gain and is just what you want.
c. In fact, weight loss without exercise can have a negative impact on body composition.
d. The pattern of losing and regaining then losing again (called the yo-yo effect) may
actually cause the body to increase fat and decrease lean body mass over time.
1. If you drastically reduce calorie consumption without exercise, you will not only lose
body fat but lean muscle as well.
2. When the weight comes back, it is likely to be just fat.
3. So even if you end up weighing the same, you are actually “fatter” - a greater
percentage of body fat.
Weight loss and bone health
a. Even modest weight loss can result in depletion of bone mineral density.
b. It is important to include weight-bearing exercise and adequate calcium in a weight-loss
regime.
c. Additionally, higher calcium intakes may facilitate fat use and inhibit fat storage.
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14. With repeated bouts of gaining and losing weights comes the “guilt” of failure to keep the
weight off.
a. This is accompanied by a loss of self-esteem as the dieter bubs himself a “failure” which
can lead to depression.
b. A better approach is a lifestyle change that will produce a gradual and permanent weight
loss that can be maintained.
C. Adopt A Physically Active Lifestyle
1. The physical contributions exercise makes to a weight-management program are threefold:
exercise increases one’s calorie expenditure, it alters body composition in a desirable
direction, and it alters metabolism.
a. It also offers the psychological benefits of looking and feeling healthy and the increased
self-esteem that accompanies these benefits, which can enhance the motivation to
maintain a healthful lifestyle for the long run.
2. Compared with lean tissue, fat tissue is relatively inactive metabolically.
a. Metabolic activity burns calories; thus, the more lean tissue you develop, the faster your
metabolism becomes, the more calories you spend, and the more you can afford to eat.
3. Keep in mind that if exercise is to help with weight loss, it must be active exercise, the
voluntary moving of muscle.
4. Unfortunately, “spot reducing” isn't possible. However, exercise helps you lose weight (fat)
all over, including the flabby parts as well.
5. Another thing to keep in mind is that the number of calories spent in an activity depends
more upon how much a person weighs than on how fast the person can do the exercise.
a. The rule seems to be that you don’t have to work fast to use calories effectively.
b. If you choose to walk rather than run the distance, you will use up the same energy; it
will just take you longer.
X. Weight-Gain Strategies
A. It is as hard for a person who tends to be thin to gain a pound as it is for a person who tends to be
fat to lose one.
B. The person who wants to gain weight is faced with some of the same challenges as the one who
wants to lose weight - learning new habits, learning to like new foods, and establishing discipline
related to meals and mealtimes.
C. The healthful way to gain weight is to build your self up by patient and consistent training while
eating nutritious foods containing enough extra calories to support the weight gain.
1. Add extra snacks of high-calorie, nutritious foods.
2. Choose calorie-dense snacks.
3. Learn to eat different foods.
4. Eat more frequently.
D. Whether you need to gain, lose, or maintain weight, attention to what you eat can pay off in longterm wellness benefits.
E. To support wellness, you should eat regular, balanced meals composed of a wide variety of foods
you enjoy.
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XI. The Savvy Diner: Aiming for a Healthy Weight While Dining Out
Resource: ABC video clip on Multimedia Manager: “Restaurant Nutrition”
A. Eating Out
1. Take time to examine your options before selecting foods at buffets, cafeterias, or food courts.
2. Take the edge off hunger by starting with a broth-based soup, small salad, fruit, or light
appetizer.
3. Ask for salad dressings, sauces, or gravies on the side, which will put you in control of the
portions.
4. Request fresh fruit, sorbet, or low-fat frozen yogurt for dessert.
5. At fast-food windows, ask that they hold the sauce on your burger and give you extra tomato
and lettuce or other vegetables for your sandwiches or tacos.
6. Be a menu sleuth; know the terms that typically describe high-fat items.
7. When ordering, inquire about preparation.
8. Downsize your order, request a doggie bag, or consider sharing the entrée with a friend.
9. Request a vegetable-based sauce for your pasta rather than the traditional meat sauces.
10. Watch out for the all-you-can-eat restaurants.
11. Finally, take time to enjoy your meal because eating slowly gives your body time to digest
the food and feel satisfied.
B. Eating Well on the Run
XII. Breaking Old Habits
Key term: behavior modification
A. Introduction
1. Breaking old patterns of behavior and developing new ones involves going through a
number of stages before changing for good.
2. First, you must be aware that you can change.
3 Then you must be inspired to want to change, which in turn will help to motivate you to find
out how to do so.
4. Once you’ve taken these initial steps, you need to maintain your behavior change by creating
a game plan that will help you handle the inevitable slips and lapses.
5. As you go through these steps, a process known as behavior modification can help.
B. Get to know yourself
1. To start, identify your goals.
2. Next, record your present pattern of behavior along with the reasons for it.
C. Identify behaviors to change
1. Once you’ve identified your goals and current patterns of behavior, determine new strategies
that will help you meet these goals and set yourself some rewards for sticking to them.
D. Take small steps
E. Reward Yourself
1. As you meet your goals, remind yourself of the progress you’re making as well as the
benefits you’re gaining.
2. Be prepared for a relapse.
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3. You’re only human and relapses will occur.
4. Don't dwell on these small set-backs.
5. Forgive yourself and move on, keeping the ultimate goal in mind.
F. Set Priorities
1. Adopt one or two behaviors that you adhere to all the time.
2. Examine other areas of your life to see if this is the best time for change.
G. Consider the “rule of three”
1. You may need to try new behaviors more than once before you like them.
2. After three attempts, it may be easier to stick with the change.
H. Strategies for Changing the Way You Eat
1. Keep a record of your present eating behavior that you can compare with your future
progress and use to determine situations that trigger overeating.
2. Next, try to identify cues that prompt you to eat when you’re not hungry, then resolve to
stop responding to those cues, and try to eat only in one place in a certain room.
3. Try the following tips to eliminate the temptation to eat when you really don’t want to:
a. Don’t buy hard-to-resist foods such as sweets.
b. Don’t shop when you’re hungry and thereby more likely to buy tempting foods.
c. Don’t leave large amounts of food within easy reach.
d. Make small portions of food look large by spreading food out and putting it on smaller
plates.
e. Try to eat regular meals and snacks instead of skipping them.
f. Keep a variety of nutritious foods such a fruits and vegetables readily available.
g. If you like to eat between meals, plan snacks that fit easily into your diet.
h. Finally, reward yourself for positive behaviors.
XIII. Spotlight: The Eating Disorders
Key terms: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, eating disorder, binge-eating disorder, unspecified eating
disorder, disordered eating
Resources: ABC video clip on Multimedia Manager: “Anorexia in the Whole Family”CNN Today:
Nutrition Vol. 2: “Girls’ Weight”

The relentless pursuit of thinness and fear of being fat are a haunting nightmare that drives
millions of American teens and adults to starve, vomit, or purge.
A. What conditions are referred to by the term eating disorder?
1. The term eating disorder can include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating
disorder.
2. All of the conditions exhibit an excessive preoccupation with body weight, a fear of body
fatness, and a distorted body image.
3. Many times, the person with an eating disorder falls short of the diagnostic criteria for
anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa; these people are described as having an unspecified
eating disorder and can include people who:
a. Meet all the criteria for anorexia nervosa except irregular menses.
b. Meet all the criteria for anorexia nervosa except that their weight remains within a
normal range.
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B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
c. Meet all the criteria for bulimia nervosa except that their binges are less frequent.
d. Have recurrent episodes of binge eating but do not compensate using the methods of
those with bulimia nervosa.
What is the difference between an eating disorder and disordered eating?
1. Disordered eating occurs when you eat (or don’t eat) because of an external stimulus rather
than an internal one.
2. People with eating disorders spend more time in “external eating” than in responding to
internal hunger cues.
What are the symptoms of anorexia nervosa?
1. Anorexics deprive themselves of food, except for controlled amounts of very-low-calorie
foods.
2. After 3 to 4 days of eating small amounts of food, hunger pangs subside.
3. Once their appetite is suppressed, anorexics report feeling quite energetic.
4. To compensate for the lack of fuel from food, the body turns inward for its fuel and begins to
slowly destroy muscle and fat tissue for energy.
5. As well, distorted psychological symptoms develop and they do not see the emaciated body
others see but continue to see someone who is too fat.
6. The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD) estimates
that of those with severe eating disorders, 6% die, usually because major organs like the heart
and kidneys fail.
What are the symptoms of bulimia?
1. Unlike anorexics, bulimics don’t shrink to skeleton-like proportions.
2. They usually are of healthy body weight or even slightly overweight.
3. Bulimics privately gorge on foods that are often sweet, starchy, and high in fat or calories and
require little chewing.
4. After gorging, an intense fear of fatness overtakes the person, who then vomits to get rid of
the food and release the fear of becoming “fatter.”
5. Binge eating is seldom life threatening, but it can be physically damaging, causing lacerations
of the stomach, tearing or irritation of the esophagus, dental caries, electrolyte imbalances,
and malnutrition.
6. They also suffer from distorted body image because they see themselves as fat and needing
to restrict food.
How are anorexia nervosa and bulimia treated?
1. The 4 major approaches include individual psychotherapy, hospitalization, family therapy,
and behavior modification.
2. Most treatment methods focus on identifying the societal and environmental pressures that
trigger the eating disorder and on exposing the emotions masked by it.
3. Length of treatment varies from 2 months to 2 to 3 years, depending on the patient’s
readiness for change and the type of treatment.
4. After some progress is made in counseling, the dietitian can help the patient gain a new
understanding of a healthful eating pattern, and clear up some earlier misconceptions about
food and nutrition.
Are there any early warning signs to watch for regarding eating disorders?
Resource: “Eating Attitudes Quiz” handout
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1.
2.
3.
Families and friends can be alerted to several possible warning signs of eating disorders.
Severe dieting often precedes the illness.
Anorexics develop an exaggerated interest in food, but at the same time deny their hunger
and stop eating.
4. They also have sleep problems, show unusual devotion to schoolwork, and often undertake a
program of unrelenting exercise.
5. Bulimics may binge and self-induce vomiting or use excessive amounts of laxatives.
6. Reduced food intake usually causes sufficient weight loss to stop menstrual cycles in women.
7. Not all anorexics and bulimics exhibit all symptoms.
8. Early detection is vital.
G. Is there anything that can be done to prevent eating disorders?
1. Discourage restrictive dieting and meal skipping.
2. Promote fitness and a healthy body rather than thinness and numbers on a scale.
3. Help teens understand and accept the normal physiological changes in body composition
and weight that occur with puberty - changes which may be interpreted as “getting fat.”
4. Be sensitive and careful about making weight-related comments or recommendations
regarding weight.
5. Encourage normal expressions of the basic emotions: joy, anger, fear, sadness, loneliness,
guilt, and shame.
H. What can I do when I am worried that someone I know has an eating disorder?
1. Make a plan to approach the person in a private place when there is no immediate stress and
time to talk.
2. Present in a caring but straightforward way what you have observed and what your concerns
are.
3. Give the person time to talk and encourage them to verbalize their feelings.
4. Do not argue about whether there is or is not a problem.
5. Provide information about resources for treatment.
6. If you are concerned that the eating disorder is severe or life threatening, enlist the help of a
counseling center staff member, relative, friend, or roommate of the person before you
intervene.
7. If the person denies the problem, becomes angry or refuses treatment, understand that this is
often part of the illness.
8. Do not try to be a hero or a rescuer; you will probably be resented.
a. Treatment is most effective when the person is truly ready for it.
Points to Consider
PTC 9-1: The Growing of America
It is estimated that nearly 65% of adult Americans are now overweight and over 30% are actually
considered obese. Certainly inactivity plays a part. However, probably the leading culprit is food portion
size. This is true for both fast-food establishments as well as regular restaurants. Now, even convenience
foods prepared (micro-waved) at home contain larger portions and many more calories than before. As
our nation struggles with the issue of weight gain, making people aware of how many calories are in
many of these meals, especially in relationship to total daily caloric need, can certainly help them focus
on reducing caloric consumption. Many people are simply unaware of just how many calories are
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actually needed each day to maintain a healthy weight. After they realize that some of these meals may
be providing 70-80 or even 100% of the total daily energy requirement, they will be much more likely to
avoid such high-calorie (and usually high-fat) meals. This is especially helpful if people are trying to lose
weight.
PTC 9-2: Weight Loss and High-Fat Diets
Several recent studies have shown that people are more successful at losing weight if their diets contain
sufficient fat. In fact, some low-carb, high-fat diets have even demonstrated a greater success rate than
traditionally low-fat diets. Since fat promotes satiety, a reasonable amount of healthful fats (in a weightloss diet) may actually help many people feel full longer and consequently eat less and lose weight. This
effect may be even greater when combined with high-fiber foods that also promote a feeling of fullness.
People wishing to lose weight might do well on a reduced-calorie diet that derives at least 30% of calories
from fat. However, be sure that they understand that the fat they do consume should be mostly
unsaturated to protect against heart disease.
PTC 9-3: Going “On A Diet”
Although most people alter their eating patterns from time to time (some more so than others), many
people consider going on a “diet” as a failure. They feel that they must now make a dramatic change to
lose the weight they want. However, most people don’t want to “go on a diet.” There is a negative stigma
or connotation associated with it. However, since everyone who eats food is already “on a diet” then they
don’t need to “go on a diet.” All they need to do is change the diet they are already on. If people realize
that they don’t (and really shouldn’t) “go on a diet” to lose weight, they may be much more likely to
attempt losing weight with this new mind set.
Recipes
Recipe 9-1: Chicken Piccata
/ cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon paprika
4 chicken breasts, skinless and boneless, rinsed and dried
2 tablespoons light margarine
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup capers
1 medium lemon, sliced
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 3
Combine the flour, pepper, salt, and paprika. Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture to coat both sides.
Melt the margarine in a skillet over medium heat; add the chicken breasts and cook for 10 minutes per
side or until tender. Remove the chicken and keep warm. Add the lemon juice, capers, and lemon slices to
the skillet and heat thoroughly. Pour the lemon juice mixture over the chicken breasts, sprinkle with
parsley and serve immediately. Serves 4.
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Recipe 9-2: Oven-Fried Onion Rings
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup corn flake crumbs
½ teaspoon Cajun or Creole seasoning
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup egg substitute
½ cup low-fat buttermilk
2 large sweet onions, sliced into rings
Non-stick cooking spray
Preheat the oven to 375° F. Mix the first four ingredients in a large plastic bag. Whisk together the egg
substitute and the buttermilk. Dip the onion rings into the egg mixture and then the coating mixture.
Coat a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Place the onion rings on the prepared sheet and bake
for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy. Serves 4.
Recipe 9-3: Parmesan-Pepper Salad Dressing
1 cup fat-free buttermilk
1/3 cup fat-free sour cream
3 tablespoons low-fat mayonnaise
3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Process for a few seconds to thoroughly blend.
Cover and chill for several hours before using.
Recipe 9-4: Southwestern Black Bean Soup
Non-stick cooking spray
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 cans (16 oz.) black beans, undrained
1 ½ cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 ½ cups thick medium salsa
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 cups brown or wild rice
Coat a stockpot with non-stick cooking spray, add oil, and place over medium heat. To the pot, add onion
and the next 3 ingredients and heat until the onion is translucent; remove from heat. In a blender, puree 2
cans of beans (with liquid) and chicken broth in batches and add to the pot. Stir in the remaining beans,
salsa, and lime juice and heat to the boiling point, reduce heat to low, add brown rice, cover, and simmer
for 30 minutes. Leftovers can be frozen. Serves 16.
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Recipe 9-5: Cream of Broccoli Soup
2 tablespoons light margarine
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons flour
12 ounces evaporated skim milk (canned)
¾ cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 package (10 oz.) broccoli, frozen and chopped
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Melt margarine in a stockpot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until translucent.
Slowly add the flour, stirring constantly until blended. Gradually add the milk and chicken broth; stirring
until the mixture is bubbly and thickened. Add the broccoli, salt, pepper, and thyme and stir frequently
until mixture is thoroughly heated. Add the Parmesan cheese and serve immediately. Serves 4.
Suggested Activities
Suggested Activity 9-1: Low-Calorie Food Options
Have the students find (or record) labels from three food products that have “low calorie” or “reduced
calorie” or “lite” on their labels. Have them compare the ingredients, calories per serving, serving size
and grams of fat, protein and carbohydrates to three similar “regular” products (making no such lower
calorie claim). (Examples might be reduced-calorie mayonnaise vs. regular mayonnaise, reduced-calorie
cheeses, etc.)
Questions to consider:
1. How many calories are really saved?
2. How are the “fewer” calories achieved?
3. Is the nutritional value or composition of the “lite” product improved vs. the “regular” one?
4. Is the cost comparable?
Suggested Activity 9-2: Weight-Loss Aids
Either individually or in groups, have the students find an over-the-counter weight-loss aid. (Labels with
active ingredients and suggested dosages are sufficient.) Have them compare the active ingredients in
each product. Ask them to explain or hypothesize how or why each product would or wouldn’t work.
Questions to consider:
1. Do they think each product is safe or dangerous?
2. Do they think each product is effective or ineffective?
3. Is this the best method to produce permanent weight loss?
4. What are (could be) any side effects?
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Suggested Activity 9-3: Overweight Population
Place the students into several small groups (6 to 8 seems best with students of mixed body
compositions). Have them discuss why they think so many people in America are either overweight or
obese. Also make a list of the factors that contribute to the problem. Have them make a list of the
problems associated with being overweight. Have them make a list of the possible solutions. Do they feel
that any particular factor is more problematic than the rest?
Suggested Activity 9-4: Discussing Weight Loss
Place your students into small groups (8-10). The topic of discussion is weight loss strategies.
Questions for them to consider:
1. How many have tried some form of weight-loss food plan (diet)?
2. Did anyone have any success?
a. How much weight was lost?
b. What did they do? (How did they lose the weight?)
3. How many produced no results?
a. What “technique” did they try?
b. Why do they feel that it was or wasn’t a good strategy?
c. Why do they think it didn’t work?
4. If someone wanted to lose weight, what do they think is the best method?
a. Why?
b. What makes this a good choice?
c. Are there any drawbacks?
This is an excellent time to introduce the idea of “dieting—a temporary change produces temporary
results.” If people want to lose weight, they have to change the way they have been doing things, like
their diets or exercise habits.
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