What and how to eat, and getting necessary exercise are matters of choice.
Kelly Ping of the Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Science Peak Nutrition Clinic spoke at the Jan. 11 UCCS Staff Council Meeting. She shared health and fitness tips and showed the benefits of making wise choices.
“Many people make dieting or getting more exercise a New Year’s resolution,” she said. “I’m here to give you some information and tips on healthy living in the new year.”
Her presentation began with comparisons between the typical diets of people living in other countries and the foods commonly consumed by Americans. The Japanese, for example, eat a lot of rice, vegetables and fish. In Sicily, bread plays a large part in daily meals, but so does fresh fruit. In the United States, food is often packaged and processed and much of it comes from fast food restaurants. The impact of the dietary differences became clear when Ping showed a life expectancy table, with the United States ranked eighteenth among the world’s nations.
She said the U.S. environment doesn’t emphasize nutrition. The availability of high-calorie, high-fat snacks and drinks is a factor. Foods processed for convenience and shelf-life don’t have the vitamins and nutritional value of fresh food. Media and advertising use taste, size and other draws to entice consumers into buying their food products. All this plus erratic family schedules that make meal times short and meal planning inconsistent add to an unhealthy lifestyle among many Americans, she said.
Ping used the phrase “portion distortion” to demonstrate how a bigger-is-better mindset has become common. What is served and what defines a serving are not the same, she said. The quantity of food a body requires and can readily digest is much less than the quantities shown in ads and served in most restaurants. Most people focus on getting more in quantity than nutrition for their money.
She explained the food pyramid, a visual aid used to show guidelines established by the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services. Triangles in colors and comparative sizes represent grains, vegetables, fruits, oils, dairy products and proteins in quantities appropriate to a healthy daily diet. The other part of the illustration features a human figure climbing stairs to represent the need for daily exercise combined with a healthy diet.
She noted the value of exercise on a number of levels beyond weight loss and weight maintenance. She showed exercise time required to use up of the energy value in calories of specific foods and meals. Some staff were surprised to learn it takes an average of two hours cycling for a person to burn off the 800 calories in a hamburger and fries meal.
Ping explained the purpose and nutritional factors attributed to each of the food groups comparing the benefits and detriments of their various sources. She talked about whole grains, sugars, product labels, exercise habits, hydration and making informed decisions. She shared a worksheet that compared their individual current meal plates and exercise commitment to proposed meal and exercise goals in the new year.
“At Peak Nutrition Clinic we work with our clients to help them establish a healthy approach to what and how they eat and how often they move their bodies,” she said.
She recommended contacting the clinic at 255-7524 for specific programs and guidance. She urged staff to seek out reliable Internet sites with dieting and exercise tips as well as nutritional recipes. She recommended www.eatright.org, www.scandpg.org and www.mypyramid.gov.
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