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Low-Glycemic-Index
Diet and Weight Loss
According to articles in the May 1, 2005 issue of the American Journal
of Clinical Nutrition and the December 2005 issue of Diabetes Care, a
low-glycemic-index diet enhanced weight loss and reduced the risk of
chronic desease. The low-glycemic-index diet does not require counting
calories or weighing food. It does not avoid fats or carbs. It
encourages the intake of complex carbohydrates, those that are slower
to convert to sugar in your body.
Low-Glycemic-Index Diet in a Nutshell:
Eat until satisfied and snack when hungry. Eat plenty of satisfying
food, such as low starch vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, and dairy
products. Eat carbohydrates (whole grain breads, cereals, vegetables or
fruit) and protein for meals and snacks. Healthy oils include olive
oil, canola oil, peanut oil. Corn, soybean, safflower, walnut and
grapeseed are considered relatively healthy.
Ludwig’s Low-Glycemic-Load Food Pyramid
Eat foods from the base of the pyramid freely, as you move up the
pyramid eat foods less frequently. Eat foods at the top of the pyramid
sparingly or not at all.
Adding
Exercise to Diet Reduces Stomach Fat
The International Journal of Obesity,
in
January 2006, reported a study comparing calory reduced
dieting to
dieting plus low intensity exercise and dieting plus high intensity
exercise. The study found that all three interventions reduced body
wieght, percent fat, and waist and hip size similarly. However only the
dieting plus either low or high intensity exercise reduced the
"subcutaneous abdominal adipocyte size" or the pouch of belly fat that
women in particular have difficulty shedding. The study found that
"gluteal adipocyte" (buttocks) size was reduced similarly with all
three methods.
This information is helpful for those who need to lose belly fat for
health reasons. Exercise seems to be the key to a reduction in belly
fat.
Obesity
Negatively Affects Quality of Life
A study reported in the Oxford
Jounal of Public Health (2005), looked
at the relationship between obesity and health-related quality-of-life.
They looked at physical health and mental health scores. The study
found that as obesity increased the health-related quality-of-life
decreased. The lower quality of life scores occured even in the absence
of chonic desease often associated with obestity.
According to Marsha D. Marcus, PhD, there is significant evidence that
those who are obese report a poorer physical quality of life that those
of normal weight. There is also some evidence that obese individuals
report poorer phychological quality of life than normal weight
individuals. Obesity impacts the self-esteem and body image of women in
particular. For seriously obese individuals there is a much greater
incidence of depression, anxiety and impaired social
functioning,
than for normal weight or moderately obese individuals. Marcus stated,
"the overall evidence that obesity impairs perceived health and quality
of life is compelling and provides additional impetus for the already
urgent need to develop better prevention strategies and treatments for
this significant public health problem."
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