The ppt presentation shows what to look for in a diet to decide whether it is healthy.

1. Reliable Weight Control
Programs
Pennington Biomedical Research Center
Division of Education
www.pbrc.edu Publication # 15

2. General features
A Diet Plan is sound if it:
 Provides recommendations that are safe
and are supported by scientific evidence.
 Suggests receiving a physician’s approval
prior to initiating the plan.
 Improves overall health and shows
positive changes in lifestyle.
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3. Nutrition
A Diet Plan is sound if it:
 Meets nutritional needs.
 Includes a variety of foods
 Emphasizes low fat foods
 Includes adequate fluids (all fluids equal to 8
glasses a day or 64 oz).
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4. Nutrition
A Diet Plan is sound if it:
 Encourages eating smaller portions of nutritious
foods but minimizes hunger or fatigue.
 Doesn’t exclude entire classes of food items.
 Considers individual food preferences.
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5. Nutrition
A Diet Plan is sound if it:
 Includes reasonable amounts of fiber and complex
carbohydrates.
 Reduces caloric intake to no lower than 1000 Kcal/d.
 At this level, one should consume fortified foods
and/or take multi vitamin-mineral supplement.
 Recommends losing in the range of 1/2 to 2 pounds a
week.
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6. Nutrition
A Diet Plan is sound if it:
 Avoids requiring special or costly supplements and
foods
 Incorporates readily obtainable foods.
 Avoids making claims about the superiority of the plan
or a particular food or supplement.
 Promotes reshaping food habits and lifestyle to
maintain weight loss.
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7. Physical fitness
A Diet Plan is sound if it:
 Includes suggestions for altering sedentary
behaviors.
 Encourages engaging in daily aerobic activities
that last at least half an hour.
 Recommends physical activities that are safe
and considers special health concerns.
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8. Social needs
A Diet Plan is sound if it:
 Provides practical suggestions for modifying
food-related attitudes and behaviors
 Educates about the need to set realistic weight
loss goals
 Includes techniques to monitor progress
 such as recording waist-hip circumferences,
frequent weighing, food record
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9. Social needs
A Diet Plan is sound if it:
 Builds positive self-esteem
 Provides strategies for coping with setbacks,
difficult situations, and non-supportive people
 Offers opportunities for group support
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10. Avoid diets with the following
components:
 Excludes groups of foods
 Grains, fruits, vegetables, dairy
 Uses a lot of testimonials
 Doesn’t allow mixing of food groups
 Doesn’t allow all types of foods at all meals
 Uses a lot of special ingredients
 Promises quick weight loss (more than 1-2 pounds a week)
 Promises to be a cure for various other ailments
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11. Prior to Starting the Plan
If any of the following are true, the individual
should seek advice from a physician
 He or she has existing health problems, such as
heart disease or hypertension
 He or she plans to lose weight as quickly as possible
 He or she is over 40 years of age for men or 50
years of age for women and plans to perform
substantially increased physical activity
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12. References
 http://www.essentialnutrition.org/lowcarb.php
 Wardlaw G, Kessel M. Perspectives in
Nutrition. 5th ed. 2002
 http://www.eatright.org
 http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/index.html
 http://www.choosemyplate.gov/
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13. Pennington Biomedical Research Center
Division of Education
 Heli J. Roy, PhD, MBA, RD
 Beth Kalicki
 Phillip Brantley, PhD,
 Director, Division of Education
 Steven Heymsfield, MD
 Director, Pennington Biomedical Research Center
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14. About Our Company…
The Pennington Biomedical Research Center is a world-renowned nutrition research center.
Mission:
To promote healthier lives through research and education in nutrition and preventive medicine.
The Pennington Center has several research areas, including:
Clinical Obesity Research
Experimental Obesity
Functional Foods
Health and Performance Enhancement
Nutrition and Chronic Diseases
Nutrition and the Brain
Dementia, Alzheimer’s and healthy aging
Diet, exercise, weight loss and weight loss maintenance
The research fostered in these areas can have a profound impact on healthy living and on the prevention of common
chronic diseases, such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, hypertension and osteoporosis.
The Division of Education provides education and information to the scientific community and the public about
research findings, training programs and research areas, and coordinates educational events for the public on various
health issues.
We invite people of all ages and backgrounds to participate in the exciting research studies being conducted at the
Pennington Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. If you would like to take part, visit the clinical trials web page at
www.pbrc.edu or call (225) 763-3000.
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