In Croatia, two-thirds of the adult population is overweight

The obesity pandemic, if we may call it that, has long been ravaging the world. How to help in the fight against obesity is a question that many of us, whether we want to admit it or not, are deeply troubled by. Nutritionist Vedrana Dučkić, owner of the consulting firm Nu3vex, speaks on this topic for Lider.

Dučkić states that obesity has become the most widespread nutritional disease in developed countries, and we can indeed speak of an obesity pandemic both globally and in Croatia. The numbers of obese individuals are rising and tend to continue to rise increasingly due to unhealthy lifestyles, lack of movement, physical activity, and the adoption of poor dietary patterns in general.

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Vedrana Dučkić

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Obesity is a disease, says Dučkić, and the medical diagnosis E65 denotes overweight, while E66 means obesity. She emphasizes that obesity carries numerous health risks such as a higher incidence of cardiovascular diseases, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, certain types of cancer, gastrointestinal diseases, hormonal disorders, and more.

Dučkić further notes that excessive food intake is the most common cause of obesity. The lifestyle we are increasingly leading today is extremely fast. We are often exposed to excessive stress, there is a lack of quality rest and sleep, along with an increasing intake of highly refined products, low nutritional value, and high caloric value, all of which leads us in a certain direction towards the obesity pandemic.

Almost two-thirds of the adult population in Croatia is overweight; of that, 42% are overweight and 23% are obese, and when comparing both sexes, there are slightly more men than women who are obese. It is also alarming that nearly 35% of children in Croatia are overweight, with 14% being obese.

With all the parameters and statistics we have, it is clear in which direction we are heading, and what we certainly need to focus on more, if we want to remain a healthy nation, is how we can help people in the fight against obesity.

It is necessary to invest effort and time to educate the population on how food, every ingredient, and nutrient can affect and does affect our metabolism, health, and maintenance of desired and adequate body weight. Various trendy diets, as we see, do not yield promising, let alone long-term good results, and we are all increasingly caught in a web of contradictory information about effective weight loss methods.

First Step

The first step is certainly to decide that we want to remain, become, and be healthy, and the way and choice of our diet is one of the key factors to achieve this. Weight loss through a nutritional plan is a long-term success. The recommendation is to learn how to properly organize your diet according to the actual needs of the body considering age, gender, level of physical activity, and health status, but also in relation to work and other obligations during the day.

It is necessary to seek professional help, and a nutritionist can certainly help determine dietary status, set a clear goal, and motivate you to achieve healthy weight loss. With a nutritional plan, we will eliminate the dangers of weight loss as well as clarify doubts related to numerous inaccurate theories concerning this health area.

When we want to eat healthily, we should primarily adhere to the basic tenets of healthy eating: eat moderately, diversely, and regularly. It is important not to skip meals, to organize our diet in a way that we consume as many fresh ingredients, seasonal fruits, vegetables, legumes, seeds, and nuts as possible. It is necessary to limit the intake of red fatty meat and full-fat dairy products, while giving preference to fish, lean poultry meat, low-fat dairy products, eggs, and plant oils such as olive oil.

By limiting highly refined ready-made products, we are halfway to health and a healthy body weight. Certainly, sugar, alcohol, carbonated drinks, and juices, as well as food rich in salt, should be avoided as much as possible to prevent unwanted accumulation of excess weight and disruption of the body’s balance.

Magic diets, as well as magical preparations (powders, tablets, capsules, teas, gels, etc.) that will replace healthy and balanced nutrition do not exist. Anyone who has not decided to change their perspective on food and anyone who has not chosen to select nutritionally quality ingredients can be sure that they will not reach their desired goal and permanent loss of excess weight.

A nutritionist, with a quality diet plan based on well-balanced, nutritionally quality meals, can provide recommendations on the intake of certain vitamins and minerals if there is a disbalance or deficit of the same. It is well known that certain vitamins and minerals have a significant impact on regulating metabolism and affect the metabolism of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.

A faster metabolism and quicker calorie burning depend on numerous micronutrients such as B vitamins, vitamin D, magnesium, iron, and others. If we include greater physical activity, we may resort to certain protein or amino acid supplements such as BCAA, L-carnitine, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), and similar dietary supplements.

We should always emphasize that these are dietary supplements, not substitutes for healthy and balanced nutrition and a well-balanced menu. It is also recommended not to take dietary supplements without prior consultation with a nutrition expert, doctor, or pharmacist.

The main motivation in maintaining optimal body weight is preserving health, that is, resisting unhealthy, fast, and caloric food and drinks that surround us, concludes Dučkić.