Dieting is the practice of eating food in a regulated way to decrease, maintain, or increase body weight, or to prevent and treat diseases such as diabetes and obesity. Dieting to lose weight is recommended for people with weight-related health problems, but not otherwise healthy people. As weight loss depends on calorie intake, different kinds of calorie-reduced diets, such as those emphasising particular macronutrients (low-fat, low-carbohydrate, etc), have been shown to be no more effective than one another

Restrictive diets are not doomed to fail in the absence of a complementary exercise program. Often seeing a local family physician or a physiotherapist in conjunction with a registered dietitian and athletic therapist is a great option to take control of this condition.Smart Food Now and exercise is also optimal for overall health.   

In terms of a healthy lifestyle you definitely want a good nutrition plan and exercise program. But when it comes to your weight, your body weight is actually determined by 80 percent diet, 10 percent exercise and 10 percent genetics. Exercise is extremely important for conditioning and body com position, but you can achieve a healthy weight with diet. If you’d like more information on how nutrition and exercise can fit into your lifestyle, contact a local dietitian or visit a local health center with exercise specialists or qualified personal trainers.Presenter: Ms. Sarah Ware, Registered Dietitian, North Vancouver, BC

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So the major changes in the last 20 years in the North American diet that have caused an increase in obesity, metabolic syndrome and diabetes would have to be due to the over-consumption of highly processed convenience foods. The typical North American diet is large in portion size, relatively low in fruits and vegetables, and high in refined sugars and grain products. We also went through a low-fat craze so there are a lot of products on the market that are low in fat yet relatively high in sugar to compensate.

A quick tip that you can do to improve your nutrition is to start thinking about whole foods, choosing whole grains, breads and cereals, fresh fruits and vegetables and choosing dairy products that are low in sugar content.  If you’d like more information on how to make better choices in your diet contact your local nutritionist, local family physician dietitian or medical professional. Presenter: Ms. Sarah Ware, Registered Dietitian, North Vancouver, BC

Now health Network  Local Practitioners: Registered Dietitian