Nutrition and Weight Control - Weight

Probably the most important dietary problem in the United States today is obesity. It is certainly the most talked about and written about, not only in terms of self-esteem, but more importantly, in terms of good health.

Physicians, dieticians and other health experts use height and weight tables to calculate an average and these experts should be consulted to insure that the tables are being accurately applied and analyzed. While the notion of an “average” weight may be viewed by some with suspicion, the truth is that Americans are steadily gaining weight. Studies indicate that people who are obese have a higher rate of disease and a shorter life expectancy than those of average weight. Added weight places an added strain to the body, especially the heart. Obesity causes over 300,000 deaths a year and obese people need health care services more frequently than thinner people. Incredibly, thirty percent of the U.S. population is believed to be obese. Being too fat and being overweight are not necessarily the same, however. Heavy bones and muscles can increase a person's weight, but only an excess amount of fat tissue can make someone obese.

An individual is usually considered obese in the clinical sense if he weighs 20 percent more than the standard tables indicate for his size and age. Too much emphasis on the importance of the height and weight tables can be as destructive as too little emphasis. Increasingly, teenage girls and boys suffer from overly-pessimistic assessments of their weights. Anxiety over acceptance by their peers and subtle, informal pressure from advertising and media sources to be “model-thin,” has pushed teens to anorexia and bulimia.

The Pinch Test

Another method of determining obesity is to use the “pinch” test. In most adults under 50 years of age, about half of the body fat is located directly under the skin. There are various parts of the body, such as the side of the lower torso, the back of the upper arm, or directly under the shoulder blade, where the thumb and forefinger can pinch a fold of skin and fat away from the underlying bone structure.

If the fold between the fingers— which is, of course, double thickness when it is pinched—is thicker than one inch in any of these areas, the likelihood is that the person is obese.

Food	Food energy	Protein	Fat	Carbohydrate
	Calories	Grams	Grams	Grams
Beans, dry seed: Lima, cooked; 1 cup	260	16	1	48
Cowpeas or black-eyed peas, dry, cooked; 1 cup	190	13	1	34
Peanuts, roasted, shelled; 1 cup	840	39	71	28
Peanut butter; 1 tablespoon	90	4	8	3
Peas, split, dry, cooked; 1 cup	290	20	1	52
Vegetables
Asparagus: Cooked; 1 cup	35	4	trace	6
Canned; 6 medium-size spears	20	2	trace	3
Beans: Lima, immature, cooked; 1 cup	150	8	1	29
Snap, green: Cooked; 1 cup	25	2	trace	6
Canned; solids and liquid; 1 cup	45	2	trace	10
Beets, cooked, diced; 1 cup	70	2	trace	16
Broccoli, cooked, flower stalks; 1 cup	45	5	trace	8
Brussels sprouts, cooked; 1 cup	60	6	1	12
Cabbage; 1 cup: Raw, coleslaw..	100	2	7	9
Cooked	40	2	trace	9
Carrots: Raw: 1 carrot (5½ by 1 inch) or 25 thin strips	20	1	trace	5
Cooked, diced; 1 cup	45	1	1	9
Canned, strained or chopped; 1 ounce	5	trace	0	2
Cauliflower, cooked, flower buds; 1 cup	30	3	trace	6
Celery, raw: large stalk, 8 inches long	5	1	trace	1
Collards, cooked; 1 cup	75	7	1	14
Corn, sweet: Cooked; 1 ear 5 inches long	65	2	1	16
Canned, solids and liquid; 1 cup	170	5	1	41
Cucumbers, raw, pared; 6 slices (1/8-inch thick, center section)	5	trace	trace	1
Lettuce, head, raw: 2 large or 4 small leaves	5	1	trace	1
1 compact head (4¾-inch diameter).	70	5	1	13
Mushrooms, canned, solids and liquid; 1 cup	30	3	trace	9
Okra, cooked; 8 pods (3 inches long, 5/8-inch diameter)	30	2	trace	6
Onions: mature raw; 1 onion (2½-inch diameter)	50	2	trace	11
Peas, green; 1 cup: Cooked	110	8	1	19
Canned, solids and liquid	170	8	1	32
Peppers, sweet: Green, raw; 1 medium	15	1	trace	3
Red, raw; 1 medium	20	1	trace	4
Potatoes: Baked or boiled; 1 medium, 2½-inch diameter (weight raw, about 5 ounces): Baked in jacket	90	3	trace	21
Boiled; peeled before boiling	90	3	trace	21
Chips; 10 medium (2-inch diameter).	110	1	7	10
French fried: Frozen, ready to be heated for serving; 10 pieces (2 by ½ by ½ inch)	95	2	4	15

Food	Food energy	Protein	Fat	Carbohydrate
	Calories	Grams	Grams	Grams
Ready-to-eat, deep fat for entire process; 10 pieces (2 by ½ by ½ inch)	155	2	7	20
Mashed; 1 cup: Milk added	145	4	1	30
Milk and butter added	230	4	12	28
Radishes, raw; 4 small	10	trace	trace	2
Spinach: Cooked; 1 cup	45	6	1	6
Canned, creamed, strained; 1 ounce	10	1	trace	2
Squash: Cooked, 1 cup: Summer, diced	35	1	trace	8
Winter, baked, mashed	95	4	1	23
Canned, strained or chopped; 1 ounce	10	trace	trace	2
Sweet potatoes: Baked or boiled; 1 medium, 5 by 2 inches (weight raw, about 6 ounces): Baked in jacket	155	2	1	36
Boiled in jacket	170	2	1	39
Candied; 1 small, 3½ by 2 inches	295	2	6	60
Canned, vacuum or solid pack; 1 cup	235	4	trace	54
Tomatoes: Raw; 1 medium (2 by 2½ inches), about 1/3 pound	30	2	trace	6
Canned or cooked; 1 cup	45	2	trace	9
Tomato juice, canned; 1 cup	50	2	trace	10
Tomato catsup; 1 tablespoon	15	trace	trace	4
Turnips, cooked, diced; 1 cup	40	1	trace	9
Turnip greens, cooked; 1 cup	45	4	1	8
Fruits
Apples, raw; 1 medium (2½ inch diameter), about 1/3 pound	70	trace	trace	18
Apple juice, fresh or canned; 1 cup	125	trace	0	34
Apple sauce, canned: Sweetened; 1 cup	185	trace	trace	50
Unsweetened; 1 cup	100	trace	trace	26
Apricots, raw; 3 apricots (about ¼ pound)	55	1	trace	14
Apricots, canned in heavy syrup; 1 cup	200	1	trace	54
Apricots, dried: uncooked; 1 cup (40 halves, small)	390	8	1	100
Avocados, raw, California varieties: ½ of a 10-ounce avocado (3½ by 3¼ inches)	185	2	18	6
Avocados, raw, Florida varieties: ½ of a 13-ounce avocado (4 by 3 inches).	160	2	14	11
Bananas, raw; 1 medium (6 by 1½ inches), about 1/3 pound	85	1	trace	23
Blueberries, raw; 1 cup	85	1	1	21
Cantaloupes, raw, ½ melon (5-inch diameter)	40	1	trace	9
Cherries, sour, sweet, and hybrid, raw; lcup	65	1	1	15
Cranberry sauce, sweetened; 1 cup	550	trace	1	142
Dates, “fresh” and dried, pitted and cut; 1 cup	505	4	1	134
Figs: Raw; 3 small (1½-inch diameter), about ¼ pound	90	2	trace	22
Dried; 1 large (2 by 1 inch)	60	1	trace	15