NUTRITION

Nutrition

Nutrition

This personal essay paper presents a diet plan for Jason Galusha, who is a 29 year-old male with a height of 6'3”. He is facing obesity problem with very little exercise.

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally, with more than 1 billion adults overweight—at least 300 million of them clinically obese—and is a major contributor to the global burden of chronic disease and disability (Deurenberg, 2008). Often coexisting in developing countries with under-nutrition, obesity is a complex condition, with serious social and psychological dimensions, affecting virtually all ages and socioeconomic groups.

My Case (Jason Galusha)

During the first 3-day food diary activity, I was able to put my diet into numbers. Throughout this class I have been able to learn what these numbers mean. By comparing the first activity and this one, I can see where this new knowledge has been applied and where it has not.

Calorie Intake

According to USDA-CNPP the calorie requirements to maintain my weight is 3,472 per day (2009). At the beginning of this class I was averaging a calorie intake of over 4,000 calories per day. Today, I am averaging just over 3200 calories per day, which is a 800 calorie per day drop since the first week of class and 272 calories per day lower than the recommended amount. But actually, I need to take at around 2,600 calories per day and I am still taking 3200 calories an increase of 800 calories.

Since I am considered obese and need to lose weight, a good way to lose weight is by watching my calorie intake. Since 3,500 calories equals one pound, I should cut my calories proportionally each day to meet my weight loss goal (Calories per Hour, 2009). For example, if I use 7,000 less than I take in each week I would lose two pounds of body weight each week. 7,000 calories per week would break down to 1,000 calories per day.

Food Pyramid

The Food Pyramid lists recommended amounts of grains, fruits, vegetables, dairy, and meats. At the start of this class, the only category that I was getting the recommended amount of was fruit. For my age, height and weight the USDA recommends three serving of dairy, seven servings of meat, four servings of vegetables, 2.5 servings of fruits, and 10 servings of grains (USDA-CNPP, 2009).

My intake of fruits and vegetables has improved some since the first week of class. During meals I try to have an extra serving of vegetables, but I do not do this on a consistent basis. I used to have a bowl of cut fruit for a snack on my work route, but I have stopped because I could not afford to stop at the grocery store. I am having a few more salads for meals, but I do need to add more dark greens like spinach.

My intake of grains has stayed about the same in the past eight weeks, about eight servings a day. I try to have a bowl of cereal or oatmeal for breakfast ...