Wednesday, December 13, 2006

National Institute for Health & Clinical Excellence (NICE) - Obesity Guidelines

Professor Peter Littlejohns, Clinical and Public Health Director at NICE says: “Obesity is the most serious threat to the future health of our nation. Its risks are as serious as smoking and urgent action is needed to tackle this problem now.

Suzanne Lucas, consumer representative says: “The UK is second only to the USA in terms of the numbers of people that are overweight or obese.

For men waist circumference of less than 94cm is low, 94 to 102cm is high and more than 120cm is very high. I measured mine a few weeks ago.. 104cm.

































Physical activity
Adults 1.2.4.18
Adults should be encouraged to increase their physical activity even if they do not lose weight as a result, because of the other health benefits physical activity can bring, such as reduced risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Adults should be encouraged to do at least 30 minutes of at least moderate-intensity physical activity on 5 or more days a week. The activity can be in one session or several lasting 10 minutes or more.

1.2.4.19 To prevent obesity, most people should be advised they may need to do 45–60 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a day, particularly if they do not reduce their energy intake. People who have been obese and have lost weight should be advised they may need to do 60–90 minutes of activity a day to avoid regaining weight.

Appendix D:
Existing guidance on diet, physical activity and preventing obesity


Total fat Reduce to no more than 35% food energy
Saturated fat Reduce to no more than 11% food energy
Total carbohydrate Increase to more than 50% food energy
Sugars (added) Reduce to no more than 11% food energy
Dietary fibre Increase non-starch polysaccharides to 18 g per day
Salt Reduce to no more than 6 g salt per daya
Fruit and vegetables Increase to at least five portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables per day



The Food Standards Agency summarises the advice as:
• Base your meals on starchy foods.
• Eat lots of fruit and vegetables.
• Eat more fish – including a portion of oily fish each week.
• Cut down on saturated fat and sugar.
• Try to eat less salt – no more than 6 g a day for adults.11
• Get active and try to be a healthy weight.
• Drink plenty of water.
• Don’t skip breakfast.


The Department of Health advises that men should drink no more than 3–4 units of alcohol per day, and women no more than 2–3 units of alcohol per day.

Sources:

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