Nutrition Expertise
A Proper Nutrition
The importance of a proper nutrition is often misunderstood. Most people unfortunately are not quite aware of the great importance of keeping a healthy and well balanced daily diet. Lack of information along with our fast paced lifestyle has led our society to alarming statistics of overweight and obesity of our population in the US.
Figures from the National Center for Health Statistics showed 34% of Americans age 20 and older were obese in 2007-08, according to a study of CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) data published in JAMA (the Journal of the American Medical Association) this year of 2011. Add in people who are overweight and the total goes to 68%. Seventeen percent of children ages 2 through 19 were obese and 32% were overweight, another JAMA study said, added to a total of 49%.
Obesity and Overweight:
- Percent of adults age 20 years and over who are obese: 33.9% (2007-2008)
- Percent of adults age 20 years and over who are overweight (and not obese): 34.4% (2007-2008)
Source: Prevalence of Overweight, Obesity, and Extreme Obesity Among Adults: United States, Trends 1960–1962 Through 2007–2008 [PDF – 195 KB]
- Percent of adolescents age 12-19 years who are obese: 18.1% (2007-2008)
- Percent of children age 6-11 years who are obese: 19.6% (2007-2008)
- Percent of children age 2-5 years who are obese: 10.4% (2007-2008)
Source: Prevalence of Obesity Among Children and Adolescents: United States, Trends 1963-1965 Through 2007-2008 [PDF – 158 KB]
Water – H2O:
Why the importance of hydrating well our bodies?
Arthur Guyton ‘s Textbook of Medical Physiology states that “the total amount of water in a man of average weight (70 kilograms) is approximately 40 litres, averaging 57 percent of his total body weight. In a newborn infant, this may be as high as 75 percent of the body weight, but it progressively decreases from birth to old age, most of the decrease occurring during the first 10 years of life. Also, obesity decreases the percentage of water in the body, sometimes to as low as 45 percent”. These figures are statistical averages, so are illustrative, and like all biostatistics, will vary with things like type of population, age and number of people sampled, and methodology.
Daily Requirements of Water
Generally speaking, people should consume approximately 2 to 3 liters of fluid each day. This does not take into account a person’s medical condition, exercise habits, and living environment. Day-to-day activities may also increase ones need for fluid. The human under harsh conditions would perish after 3 days with no water.
Other sources of Water
Besides drinking water, we take in a lot of fluids in the food that we eat. Many fruits and vegetables have a high water content, another reason why we should eat a lot of fresh produce. One hundred percent fruit juice also contributes fluid to our diet, as do other beverages such as coffee and soda, though in small amounts. Caffeine, however, is dehydrating and can cause you to lose water. Soda and many fruit juices are a huge source of wasted calories in our diet.
Water is life – Save Water – Drink more Water