Role of nutrition planning in the treatment for obesity.

The most sensible eating plans are those that involve a wide selection of foods with a modest percentage of kilocalories as fat. The dietary pyramid developed by the US Government is an excellent basis for the construction of an eating plan for life. Patients should be encouraged to develop healthy eating habits that they can maintain indefinitely, as the early inevitable consequence of finishing a diet is regain of any weight that has been lost when the patient goes back to their old eating habits. The unfortunate fact is that individuals with the disease of obesity must behave differently than those who do not. This usually means that obese persons must eat differently than lean persons, and they must do this for their entire lives. Food is a critical part of the social fabric of our society. The physician, usually in combination with a knowledgeable and empathetic dietitian or other nutritional education resource, can help obese patients choose the series of compromises in eating plans and activity levels that can be maintained for life but still allow a reasonable quality of life.