Nutrition weight gain

Because weight is influenced by energy (calories) consumed and expended, interventions to improve weight can support changes in diet or physical activity. They can help change individuals’ knowledge and skills, reduce exposure to foods low in nutritional value and high in calories, or increase opportunities for physical activity. Interventions can help prevent unhealthy weight gain or facilitate weight loss among obese people. They can be delivered in multiple settings, including health care settings, worksites, or schools.

Social and Physical Determinants of Weight

The social and physical factors affecting diet and physical activity (see Physical Activity topic area) may also have an impact on weight.

Obesity is a problem throughout the population. However, among adults, the prevalence is highest for middle-aged people and for non-Hispanic black and Mexican American women. Among children and adolescents, the prevalence of obesity is highest among older and Mexican American children and non-Hispanic black girls. The association of income with obesity varies by age, gender, and race/ethnicity.

Emerging Issues in Nutrition and Weight Status

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

1US Department of Health and Human Services and US Department of Agriculture (USDA). Dietary guidelines for Americans, 2005. 6th ed. Washington: US Government Printing Office, 2005 Jan.

2National Institutes of Health (NIH); National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Clinical guidelines on the identification, evaluation, and treatment of overweight and obesity in adults: The evidence report. Bethesda, MD: NIH; 1998.

6US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion. Diet quality of low-income and higher-income Americans in 2003–04 as measured by the Healthy Eating Index, 2005. Nutrition Insight, 2008 December, no. 42.

7Healthy People 2010 midcourse review [Internet]. Washington: Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion; 2007. Available from:

8Story M, Kaphingst KM, Robinson-O’Brien R, et al. Creating healthy food and eating environments: Policy and environmental approaches. Annu Rev Public Health. 2008;29:253-72.

10Guthrie JF, Lin BH, Frazao E. Role of food prepared away from home in the American diet, 1977–78 versus 1994–96: Changes and consequences. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2002 May–Jun;34(3):140-50.

12Institute of Medicine. Preventing childhood obesity: Health in the balance. Koplan JP, Liverman CT, Kraak VI, editors. Washington: National Academies Press; 2005.

13US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Public Health Service, Office of the Surgeon General. The Surgeon General’s vision for a healthy and fit nation. Rockville, MD: HHS, 2010 Jan.

15US Preventive Services Task Force, Barton M. Screening for obesity in children and adolescents: US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement. Pediatrics. 2010 Feb;125(2):361-7.

16Barlow SE; Expert Committee. Expert committee recommendations regarding the prevention, assessment, and treatment of child and adolescent overweight and obesity: Summary report. Pediatrics. 2007 Dec;120(suppl 4):S164-92.

17Anderson LM, Quinn TA, Glanz K, et al. The effectiveness of worksite nutrition and physical activity interventions for controlling employee overweight and obesity: A systematic review. Am J Prev Med. 2009 Oct;37(4):340-57. Review. Erratum in: Am J Prev Med. 2010 Jul;39(1):104.