9.NPA.3

What does this standard mean a child will know and be able to do?

9.NPA.3.1 Differentiate between healthy and unhealthy plans for weight gain, maintenance and loss.
Obesity has become a worldwide epidemic in developed and developing countries and a contributing factor in leading causes of death including heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke and cancers. As many as 1 in 4 elementary school children in the U.S. are overweight or obese. Studies have attributed population weight gain to a number of factors including calorie balance (intake out of balance with output); set point, fat cell development/metabolism; advent of fast/convenience foods; genetic predisposition, and most recently, high fructose effects on insulin production. Given the scope of the problem worldwide, obesity seems to have more to do with the food and activity environment than individual willpower.

Obese, overweight, and even normal weight individuals attempt to shed fat through a variety of strategies, most of them ineffective, expensive and some even dangerous. Healthy strategies attempt to determine accurate body fat levels through BMI computations, skin fold measures or hydrostatic weighing. Then they engage the person in shifting their patterns of eating and activity to ratchet down body fat, slowly over time, allowing new habits can replace poor habits. Good programs explore reasons for eating (satiety, emotions), sound nutrition, and how to increase incidental and purposeful activity. They have the participant track activity and food consumption to increase awareness of behavioral cues and events and to monitor success. Finally, social reinforcement, coaching and weekly accountability work. These strategies can be useful to those who need to lose, maintain, or gain weight.

Weight loss programs that do not work are the ones that suggest no effort is required! Some involve pills, shots, food supplements, pre-purchased food plans, or eating strategies that are so extreme that the weight loss results from food fatigue. Fad diets rarely encourage an hour of exercise on most days as a part of the plan. Usually, people “go on” such diets for a week or two and see quick results, mostly water loss. Then fatigue and hunger take over and weight loss slows or reverses. People go back to old habits, gain more weight and start the cycle over again—a process called yo-yo dieting, or weight cycling.

While utilizing proven strategies increases one’s chance of success, weight loss and maintenance is far from easy. Long-term studies show that only 5-8% of overweight people lose the weight and keep it off for five years or longer. The ones who kept weight off had some common characteristics—they ate a more vegetarian diet, substituted non-food solutions for emotional eating, did moderate exercise like walking 50 minutes or more most days, and loved being outdoors.
 * The student will compare and contrast healthy and unhealthy strategies for weight loss, gain, or maintenance.
 * Utilizing a positive and negative strategy checklist and advertising literature from weight loss plans (Nutrisystem, South Beach, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Alli, Slimfast, diet pills, others) the student will rate a product’s potential for success.
 * The student will aggregate characteristics of successful weight maintenance participants.

9.NPA.3.2 Classify the effects of eating disorders as short-term or long-term.
Three major eating disorders affect young women and a few young men—binge eating disorder, anorexia nervosa, and bulimia nervosa. Eating disorders accompany other mental health problems such as depression, alcohol and drug abuse, bi-polar and anxiety disorders, all of which need recognition and expert treatment.

Binge eating disorder involves recurrent episodes of out-of-control eating without attempts to purge afterwards, resulting in weight gain. Persons with this disorder eat rapidly to the point of discomfort, then feel embarrassed or disgusted afterwards. Binge eaters do not feel in control of their lives, are likely to binge drink alcohol and participate in other impulsive behaviors. Eating is often related to emotions rather than true hunger and may involve brain chemical abnormalities. Long-term complications include obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, gall bladder disease, heart disease, and certain cancers.

With bulimia nervosa, subjects do binge eating and follow it with a purge, attempts to rid the body of calories with laxatives, enemas, vomiting or excessive exercise. The cycle is repeated two or more times a week for several months or more. Bulimics are normal weight but intensely dissatisfied with their bodies. Sometimes dentists are the first professionals to diagnose bulimia as they observe erosion of teeth enamel from the acid in vomit. Dehydration is also a problem.

Anorexia nervosa is characterized by self-starvation and excessive weight loss (25% or below normal weight). Anorexics avoid meals and food, battle with friends and family about eating, weigh incessantly, exercise compulsively, and purge food. Anorexia is the most dangerous of the three, resulting in cardiac arrest, heart arrhythmias caused by electrolyte imbalance, liver and kidney damage, or suicide. Common warning signs include weight fluctuations, social withdrawal, excessive weight loss, obsession with food or calories, feelings of guilt or shame, and thoughts of suicide.
 * The student will differentiate among the three types of eating disorders.
 * For each disorder, the student will profile warning signs and symptoms.
 * The student will self-monitor and self-refer concerns about an eating disorder in a friend, family member, or counselor.

9.NPA.3.3 Recall resources for seeking help for people with eating disorders.
Eating disorders are treated through psychological and nutritional counseling, family counseling, medications, outpatient or hospital care. Most high school counselors have assessment tools to help determine the type and degree of an eating disorder and how to help students and their families get help. Eating disorder help sites include: ANRED, Inc (anred.com) provides information; Eating Disorders Online (caringonline.com) provides links to research, treatment and support; Center for Eating Disorders (eatingdisorder.org) provides information on diagnosis and treatment; and National Eating Disorders Association (nationaleatingdisorders.org) helps friends avoid/deal with eating disordered friends. Teachers, parents, and friends also need to be aware of certain websites that provide “community” for disordered eating persons and coach participants into behaviors that could exacerbate negative outcomes.
 * The student will summarize approaches to treatment of eating disorders.
 * The student will examine and rate websites for usefulness in information, resources, linkages, and help for disordered eating.
 * The student will avoid web sites that foster disordered eating.