The slow success of science - Eating habits of the young, some extremes, diets and health
Jolán Kubányi, president of the Hungarian Dietetic Association, got her MSc from the University of Pécs, and is currently the head of the Association. We talk about eating habits of the young, some extremes, diets and health.
We examined university students in Pécs, Debrecen and Budapest within our E3 programme. During its 3 years 5170 students were involved in the study, which included body composition measurement, nutrition consultation and queries. 64% of the 21-year-old age group wanted to know more about healthy nutrition and turned to experts for that reason, that is, they wished to obtain information from professional sources. The survey, from which the above data has been cited, was closed at the end of last year. A positive outcome of the survey is that young people apparently are looking for sources that are professionally correct and based on evidence.
Photo: Szabolcs Csortos, Univpécs
What can you offer in this field?
Our association has a double function. Above all, we deal with up-to-date expert knowledge of professionals, but as a public benefit organisation we consider it very important to take appropriate steps for the improvement of public health. We have created the National Directory of Dietitians in 2015 so that anyone who would like to turn to an expert with questions regarding nutrition and eating can find one near their residence. Currently our experts are not available in the system of primary care, only at ambulatory and inpatient care levels. That is why we found it important to create a directory. We think it important that the public should find answers for their dietetic problems and questions from dietitians, and not from amateur sources.
Fad diets occur among university students, too. There are super-muscular boys and skin-and-bones girls...
Yes, in case of boys it is fashionable to become as muscular as if they carried a watermelon under their arms. Besides proper eating, regular exercise also plays an important role in young people's lives. Of course it does matter what kind of exercise it is, and extremes are to be avoided. For the sake of gaining muscle mass some people take in extra protein in the form of food supplements. However, excessive protein intake may be harmful for the system (for the kidneys, hormones, etc.). In case of an average adult, healthy calorie intake means 2000 kCals daily, and the proportion of fats, carbo-hydrates and protein matters too. We need to take in 0.8-1.2 gram/body kilogram protein daily; 50-55 percent carbohydrates, max. 30 percent fat and 15 percent protein makes up the approximate recommendation.
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The other extremes are those girls who are nearly skin and bones...
There are a lot of varieties of eating disorders of psychological origins. In case of women, excessive dieting may lead to anorexia nervosa, while in case of man the so-called muscle dysmorphia is more common. Anorexia nervosa is more saliently current in some jobs, such as dancers, who want to perform perfectly on stage and can run to an extreme in dieting, since it is extremely important for them to keep their weight. Psychological disorders manifest in eating, but in treatment psychologists have a primary role, and nutritional therapy comes only second. In their case body image issues mean that anorexic people see themselves as morbidly obese, while in reality they are dangerously skinny.
How can a diet become so dangerous?
The ideal female body shape of our age is skinny, which is what magazines, models and advertisements suggest. It is obvious that young people try to meet these requirements and trends, and to achieve this goal, they turn to diets. An adequately assembled and planned diet with a realistic goal can lead to appropriate results, but excess weight loss mostly leads to serious psychological disorders.
How to do a diet reasonably then?
Health check must be started by the GP, which includes lab examinations and blood pressure measurement as well. The diet plan can be made on the basis of these results. The dietitian puts the individual diet together in the knowledge of these results and the nutritional anamnesis of the patient. Depending on the amount of excess body mass, the diet can be short-term or long-term, however, it is important to emphasise that we regard a maximum of 0.5-1 kg weekly weight loss as ideal. It is also important that the diet adjusted to individual tolerance must put basic metabolism in the focus in order to avoid yo-yo effect so that lost kilograms could not be put on later. Extra weight should not be lost overnight, and exercise can help a lot in addition to a reduced energy diet. When you reach the desired body mass, i.e. the goal of the diet, intake is increased so that it approaches the 2000 kCals recommended for healthy adults. Dash diets promise quick results, while science offers a slow but steady success.
What is the healthiest food?
There is no such thing. Everything available in commercial trade is registered and licensed food, end-product or ingredient, and moderation is the consumer's responsibility. The new Hungarian recommendation, called OKOSTÁNYÉR® [smart plate], can help with it. The guide determines the daily amounts on our plates on the basis of the latest scientific results.
Our professional association of dietitians and nutrition experts spent several months to develop a new, food-based recommendation with respect to the latest international scientific results and regulations. The easy to understand wording and graphic representation of OKOSTÁNYÉR® helps people get around in the maze of science.
OKOSTÁNYÉR® was published with the recommendation of the committee of Food Science of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and it will be complemented with background materials and recipes helping interpretation and practical implementation.
Our website includes further useful information in healthy nutrition.
http://mdosz.hu/uj-taplalkozasi-ajanlasok-okos-tanyer/
by Éva HARKA/ UnivPécs