Festively plump? Time to start making healthy changes
Published on 25 January, 2011
This week is Australia Healthy Weight Week (23rd-30th Jan), a week-long promotion supported by the Dietitians Association of Australia to raise the awareness of Australians to achieve and maintain a healthy weight.
Achieving a healthy weight is something many Central Queenslanders need to be conscious of says CQUniversity Physical Activity researchers Dr Mitch Duncan and Dr Corneel Vandelanotte, who both emphasise that, "It's important for us to be aware of what our weight status really is and if this is causing problems for our health".
"This is especially for Central Queenslanders, where 73% of men and 65% of women are overweight or obese."
Being overweight or obese doesn't just make it more physically challenging to do everyday activities; it can also increase your risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Two commonly-used methods to determine overweight and obesity are Body Mass Index (BMI) which is your weight in kilograms divided by your height in metres squared, and waist circumference which is measured halfway between your lowest rib and the top of your hipbone, or roughly in line with your belly button. For adults a BMI of over 25 is considered overweight, and if you're using waist circumference, over 94cm for men and over 80cm for women is considered to increase your risk of disease.
The good news is that you don't have to give up everything you like to do and eat to lose weight. You do need to commit to making changes and often a few simple changes can make a big difference.
Most people will already know that losing weight is not easy. But according to CQUniversity Nutritionist Dr Sue Williams, most people make too many changes at once and hence set themselves up for failure.
The key is to firstly know what you currently eat (a food diary can help) and then make only one or two changes which you consider ‘doable'. Focusing on those commonly heard recommendations such as ‘eating a variety of fruits and vegetables each day, starting the day with a healthy breakfast, choosing lean meats, or limiting your intake of highly processed foods like chips, biscuits, lollies and pastries' are the best place to start.
Dr Williams said that "portion size is also important even with healthy foods and to think of the old saying ‘be careful that your eyes aren't bigger than your belly'.
Using smaller plates or serving up only recommended serving sizes can help with cutting down the amount you eat.
Both Dr Vandelanotte and Dr Williams caution people against reading too many magazines or taking up fad diets, and making radical changes to their lifestyles that aren't sustainable in the long term. Most people are better off making gradual lifestyle changes that are able to be maintained for the months and years to come.
The Dietitians Association of Australia recommends that people improve their levels of physical activity and their dietary habits to help with weight loss and maintenance. This is good news for Gladstone men with the city being the host of the ManUp Gladstone project, which is designed specifically for men to improve their physical activity levels and their healthy eating.
Marcus Ellison is the Gladstone-based Project Officer for ManUp and highlights that while ManUp Gladstone "isn't specifically designed for weight loss, if men do need to lose weight then joining the free project will help them to do so". ManUp Gladstone allows men to choose the activities they want to do and how they want to change their eating patterns and also gives men the opportunity to compete with their mates to stay motivated. The program will be open to all Gladstone region residents later this year, and men aged 35-54 who are interested in participating NOW can go to http://www.recruit.manup.org.au/ to sign up and get started.