A number of strategies centered on addressing over-eating and a sedentary lifestyle are particularly important in the prevention of obesity incidences. These include:
Promoting better nutrition-You should prioritize healthy eating to lower your risk of obesity. Encourage the consumption of nutritious whole foods to acquire sufficient quantities of nutrients. By eating nutritious foods, you’re unlikely to exceed your calorie intake. Include variety as well to acquire the various nutrients in adequate amounts. Limit the intake of processed foods because for even a small portion of these foods, you acquire significant number of calories compared to when you consume similar portions of whole forms.
Moderation is key-You want to consume adequate amounts of foods but not in exceeding amounts. Learn to identify your hunger and satisfaction cues, i.e. when you feel full then you’ve probably had enough. Consider your portion sizes as per your nutrient requirements but do not overindulge. By eating nutritious foods ,you will likely identify these cues which will signal you when you’ve had enough of a food, preventing over-feeding hence the more need to prioritize nutritious foods over processed ones.
Read nutrition labels –It is advisable that you consider reading nutrition labels when you make food purchases to be informed about the nutrient content of food items you intend to purchase. Reading nutrition labels will help you identify nutrients you should limit such as sodium, sugar, etc and the amount of nutrients you are obtaining form a particular food item. Nutrition labels should offer some guidance on the portions to include for a food item in a particular seating.
Engage in physical activity-Incorporating physical activity regularly is crucial. The extra energy after energy sue for physiological functions should be expended to avoid weigh gain. Allowing this energy to be stored over time is what leads to accumulation of fat and later weigh gain. By engaging in physical activity, you are able to burn fat and improve your cardiovascular health. Physical activity should involve doing chores like cleaning, mowing the lawn, strolling-not necessarily intense work outs. Aim for about 150 mins of some exercise 5-7 times in a week. As you become fit, you can increase the amount of time for exercise gradually. Please note that you should consult guidance before engaging in exercise especially if you were initially not as active.
If you’re just beginning to make adjustments to your lifestyle with the aim of preventing weight gain , you want to implement the mentioned changes gradually. Perhaps first decide to address the issue on healthy eating by introducing nutritious foods slowly, then maybe target to resolve a different concern i.e. increase physical activity.
In the following post, we will look at the risk factors of obesity.