You can generally prevent obesity by eating a healthful diet and exercising regularly, although genetic factors sometimes play a role in obesity.

General recommendations include:

• Eat a healthful diet.
• Exercise regularly.
• Seek counseling for unhealthful attitudes that may affect your eating habits.

Eat a Healthful Diet

Recommendations for a healthy diet change periodically as research evolves—and fads come and go. Current dietary recommendations are based on the food pyramid developed by the US Department of Agriculture.

Consult your healthcare provider or a dietitian about an appropriate number of calories for you to eat each day. Ask for a diet or guidelines that will help you maintain a healthy weight or lose weight if necessary.

If you have special dietary needs because of a medical condition, consult with your healthcare provider. Ask for a referral to a registered dietitian for more personalized help.

Exercise Regularly

Exercise burns calories, takes your mind off eating, and helps prevent a number of medical conditions. It also increases your metabolic rate long after you’re done exercising, which helps you to burn more calories throughout the day, even when you are at rest.

Regardless of your weight and health status, there is an exercise program that will work for you. Talk to your healthcare provider or a qualified exercise professional about working physical activity into your daily life. This may include walking more on your errands, going to the gym, or taking up activities such as biking, swimming, golf, or tennis. You don’t have to be an athlete to stay in shape. If you are not used to exercise, shoot for a moderate intensity of physical activity, but do it regularly.

Consider Counseling

Consider counseling or behavior therapy if you feel that stress or emotions are playing a role in your eating habits. Obesity is often associated with unhelpful thought patterns related to your social image and frustration with attempts to lose weight. Often these thoughts can be a barrier to success. Consider counseling if you think such attitudes stand in your way.

Behavior therapy may help you understand:

• When you tend to overeat
• Why you tend to overeat
• How to combat overeating tendencies

References:

American Dietetic Association website. Available at: http://www.eatright.org.

The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy. 17th ed. Merck & Co.; 1999.

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. National Institutes of Health website. Available at: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/.

Physical Activity and Health: A Report of the Surgeon General. US Department of Health and Human Services; 1999.

Dietary Guidelines for Americans. US Department of Agriculture; 2005.

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