The Practice of Dieting

Dieting is the practice of ingesting food in a regulated fashion to achieve or maintain a controlled weight. In most cases the goal is weight loss in those who are overweight or obese, but some athletes aspire to gain weight, usually in the form of muscle. Diets can also be used to maintain a stable weight. Dieting in children and young adults should be undertaken with extreme caution, as receiving adequate nutrition through a well-balanced diet is crucial during childhood and adolescence. Research shows that putting children on starvation or extreme diet can be harmful. The brain is unable to correlate taste with nutritional value, which is why such children may consistently overeat later in their life despite adequate nutritional intake. Physical exercise is also an important complement to dieting in securing weight loss. This is primarily for your physical well being though, as the energy burnt during physical exercise has only limited effect on weight loss. One hour of aerobic exercise for a man burns only enough calories to be the equivalent of 2 ounces of fat. Weight loss typically involves the loss of fat, water and muscle. As muscle tissue is denser than fat, fat loss results in increased loss of body volume compared with muscle loss. Reducing even 10% body fat can therefore have a dramatic effect on a persons body shape. Muscle loss during weight loss can be restricted by regularly lifting weights or doing push-ups, or other strength oriented exercises, and by maintaining sufficient protein intake. Persons on low-carbohydrate diets, and those doing particularly strenuous exercise, may wish to increase their protein intake. Any diet that fails to meet minimum nutritional requirements can threaten general health and physical fitness in particular. If a person is not well enough to be active, weight loss and good quality of life will be unlikely.