Americans who eat a healthful diet consume a variety of nutrient-dense foods within and across the food groups, especially whole grains, fruits, vegetables, low-fat or fat-free milk or milk products, and lean meats and other protein sources and limit the intake of saturated and trans-fats, cholesterol, added sugars, sodium, and alcohol. They balance caloric intake and caloric needs ("Nutrition and Weight Status," 2012).
Obesity has detrimental effects on the healthcare system and the quality of life for many obese individuals. It is important to develop policies and promote a social awareness that no longer sanctions discrimination of the obese while responsibly promoting behavior modification to improve health. Stokes (2004) notes that, "not everyone can or should look like supermodels, and no one should obsess over his or her body size; however, being overweight or obese is directly linked to development of chronic disease, and it is second only to smoking as a preventable cause of death." Public health workers must help disseminate a message to improve health by attaining a healthier weight. Furthermore, there must be more research and evaluation aimed at understanding issues surrounding the overweight and obese and its treatment and prevention.
Conclusion
As new and innovative policy and environmental interventions to support diet and physical activity are implemented, it will be important to identify which are most effective. A better understanding of how to prevent unhealthy weight gain is also needed.
References
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