National Nutrition Month identifies obesity, eating disorders

March is not just a month for watching college basketball and hunting for four leaf clovers. Nationwide it is also recognized as National Nutrition Month.

One disease that seems to be affecting people worldwide and more intensely the U.S. population is obesity.

According to Center for Disease Control and Prevention representatives, more than one-third of the U.S. adult population is considered to be obese and obesity has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents over the past 30 years.

The state of Nebraska is the 24th most obese state in the nation, according to a 2011 report from the Trust for America’s Health Organization.

According to N. Jay Sorensen, MBA RD on his food and nutrition website, some of the many side effects that can come from living with obesity are diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, cancer, elevated cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, gallbladder disease, fatty liver, female reproductive system disorders, asthma, social disorders, degenerative arthritis, obstruction sleep apnea, pseudotumorcerebri, psychological disorders, gallstones, sleep disorders, heart attacks, strokes and depression.

One popularly coined myth is “You are what you eat.”

Ashley Houtwed, MS, RD, LMNT Diabetes Educator and Director of Nutrition Services at Sidney Regional Medical Center said that you may not be what you eat, but what you eat does effect you.

“How you act is going to be reflective in what you eat,” she said.“If you eat French fries you won’t turn into a French fry like some joking commercials suggest, however you could feel more sluggish which is what the commercials are trying to promote. French fries will not give you as much energy as an apple for example.”

Though many may be unaware of the difference between obese and overweight, the difference comes from body mass index (BMI) totals.

“A BMI of greater than 30 is classified as obese,” said Houtwed.“A lot of people think that the stipulations are too stiff but that is what classifies them as obese.”

According to Houtwed, the BMI classifications for overweight are 25-30, for obese it is 30-35 and over 35 is considered morbidly obese.

“How to calculate BMI is basically a ratio of your height and weight, but some people may still feel that they are over weight regardless of the BMI classifications,” she said.

Houtwed said that the first step for someone to take to get healthy if they feel they are overweight is to go see their physician.

“If they were just wondering their BMI level that’s something that is just a calculation, so if they know their height and weight I can calculate their BMI for them or they can,” she said. “They can calculate it for themselves because there are BMI tables online.”

Although some of the most well known side affects of obesity are heart disease and diabetes those aren’t the first signs that someone has the disease, said Houtwed.

“A lot of the first side effects that people feel are in their knees,” she said.“It makes extra weight on their knees andcauses arthritis and hypertension. That’s more of a silent side affect because besides minor pain there aren’t many symptoms, you just have to get it checked.”

The diabetes educator also said that the biggest thing that a person can do to combat high blood pressure is to lose weight.

After seeing a doctor,Houtwed said that the next steps to battling obesity would be developing some kind of meal plan and either getting help from places like a clinic or going and seeing a dietician as far as eating habits and a trainer as far as exercising.

“Knowledge is the key to getting back in shape, and then they have to implement the strategy. Our job is giving them the tools and knowledge to do what they need to as far as eat better and exercise. They don’t need to do so much of a diet, but instead create a meal plan that is realistic to do for the rest of their life.”

Houtwed has hypothesized(which is backed up by research) as to why the obesity rate in the U.S. is growing faster than in other nations and why certain states are more obese than others.

“The food offered in some places can determine a state’s obesity rate. Colorado is one of the leanest places because they have all the nature stuff and outdoor activities and appear to promote more it seems like,” she said. “Most areas that see more obese people seem to promote less.”

States like Colorado promote healthier foods and restaurants as well as more fitness events, she explained.

“I think Nebraska is trying to get to that point but it’s not as big here,” she said.

In other countries more people may rely on their feet for transportation instead of cars like in the U.S. and other countries still value sit down meals, said the director of nutrition services.

“I think other countries still have the value of sitting down and still having family meal time and America is seeing less of that,” she said.“The American life is to work workwork and work long hours and then people don’t take time for exercise.”

Houtwed said that portion size has also changed a lot from just 20 years ago and that that can explain an increase in obesity.

“Portion sizes are huge now and people get upset if they are paying a lot of money and getting a little bit of food,” she said.

For example the portion size of a meal of spaghetti and meatballs 20 years ago was one cup of sauce and three small meatballs at 500 total calories. Today it is two cups of sauce and three large meatballs, equaling 1,020 calories, she said.

A portion of one cheeseburger was 333 calories 20 years ago, and today that one portion is 590 calories.

For everyone that grew up looking at the food pyramid, it is now just a thing of the past.

“A new version of the old food pyramid is now found at choosemyplate.gov and isn’t a pyramid anymore,” said Houtwed. “In 2010 they changed it to myplate to make it easier for people to understand better where it is actually on a plate now instead of a pyramid.”

As for childhood obesity, Houtwed attributes part of that to technology and childrens’ choices to stay in and play video games instead of playing outside.