Western Oregon Journal

Issue date: 5/20/05 Section: Culture

(U-WIRE) DAVIS, Calif.—Carbs or no carbs? South Beach or Subway?

With tons of advertisements and information continuously being fed to Americans, distinguishing fact from fiction when it comes to dieting can be a real workout.

But for America’s growing overweight population, losing weight is becoming a necessity in order to live a healthy life and avoid such dangers as heart disease and cancer.

Dr. Elizabeth Applegate, senior lecturer for the nutrition department at UC Davis, said that 65 percent of Americans are overweight or obese—three times higher than 20 or 30 years ago.

If percentages keep increasing as they have, by the year 2040 that number will reach 90 to 95 percent.

Applegate noted that being overweight means having a Body Mass Index of 25 to 29.9. Anything greater than 30 is considered obese. Residence hall dietician Linda Adams said there are a few things to keep in mind when trying to lose weight or starting a diet.

Adams mentioned that when dieting, people should moderate their food intake rather than eliminating one food or skipping meals.

“That’s what I see a lot of young folks in college do -- skipping meals, only eating once a day,” Adams said. “But when they cut the calories they also cut out what’s important.”

Applegate said that people often deprive themselves of food because they feel they have to be punished for being overweight. She also mentioned the flaws of diets that eliminate a certain food group such as Atkins.

“Although people do well initially, in the end Atkins is not helpful,” Applegate said. “It’s not going to kill you, but it doesn’t teach you how to eat right for the rest of your life.”

UCD senior Ngozika Chukwauezi said she is currently on a diet that simply monitors what she eats and increases exercise, but noted many students often turn to fad diets.

“I think diets like Atkins are the easy way out for people,” Chukwauezi said. “Dieting is something you have to keep at. It’s a complete lifestyle change.”

Adams suggested that an alternative to the many diet options is looking at the new food pyramid to create an eating plan.

The new pyramid, found at mypyramid.com, is customized depending on age, sex and physical exercise to give an individual chart on the amount of foods to eat.

She also noted that after the recent trend of low-fat and low-carb diets, it seems that the current tendency is going toward people choosing to eat healthy foods in order to lose weight.

But for those who use diet fads, Applegate said there are a few mistakes people often make -- the most common is forgetting to exercise.

“By exercising people burn more calories, reduce weight and feel better about themselves,” Applegate said. “That’s something you don’t get from just cutting calories.”

It is recommended that a person exercise 60 to 90 minutes a day, which can be as simple as biking to school or going to the gym for cardio. Applegate also said a common mistake is not eating enough fiber.

“If you eat nine servings of fruits and vegetables each day I guarantee you’ll lose weight,” she added.

And the third mistake many make in dieting is not figuring out calorie counts in all their foods.

“Most people don’t realize that a mocha coffee contains 300 to 500 calories,” she said. “But if you just cut the fat, and instead choose a nonfat mocha it ends up being 90 calories.”

Those interested in calculating their BMI can visit the nutrition 10 website at http://teaching.ucdavis.edu/nut10/bmi.htm.

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