LAOAG CITY, July 8 (PIA) – A group of nutritionists and dieticians said going on a diet means not just losing weight but also involves the proper food choices taken by an individual.
Ms. Constancia Lopez, president of the Nutritionist-Dietician Association of the Philippines (NDAP) – Ilocos Norte Chapter, sought to correct the perception that a person going on a diet is obese or overweight.
“The perception of diet is to lose weight only but the truth is when we say diet it is the right kind and the right amount of food to be taken,” Lopez said.
Dieting also refers to the proper meal pattern which includes eating on time and the proper amount of food to be taken in every meal.
“Meal pattern is very important in a diet. We have to eat on time because if we eat very late for breakfast or very early for lunch, the tendency is the body metabolism is affected,” said Delia Ortis, Registered Nutrition-Dietician (RND).
The NDAP conducted counseling to students and adults during the provincial government of Ilocos Norte’s launching of the Nutrition Month 2015 celebration on Wednesday.
“Our nutrition month focuses more on obesity which is a global problem now so we have to be aware of our weight with proper nutrition and exercise,” said Lopez.
She said that, knowledge on proper diet makes a person healthy.
“There are so many diseases coming out. Diet counseling makes us aware of the kind of food the quality and the quantity of food to be taken up to avoid these diseases,” Lopez added.
According to the monitoring of NDAP, cases of diabetic and kidney failure in Ilocos Norte are increasing.
These are caused by soft drinks, juices, fast foods and foods that have more preservatives which are considered as comfort food by many.
To prevent improper diet, the NDAP has taught the students to do the calorie counting of their food intake and simple computation guide.
“To be healthy is to desire for our normal body weight and the best way to achieve it is the recommendation of the World Health Organization (WHO) to perform physical exercise at least 30 minutes five times a week,” said Lopez. (Cherry Joy D. Garma/PIA-1, Ilocos Norte)
