Body Size Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Body Size - Assignment Example Day 3 - Anthony is the boy next door. He's 10 years old, stands 4 feet 9 inches and weighs 150 pounds. He's a big eater of carbohydrates. I think he should lose some weight before he gets to his teens, otherwise he might be an obese adult. Day 4 - Ina Garten of the Food Network is definitely fat. She must be enjoying a lot of the food she cooks, that's why. Another cook on the same network, Giada de Laurentiis is surprisingly thin for a cook. I'd rather be like Giada than Ina. I do find myself making judgments and having negative thoughts about obese or overweight people and children. I do not want to look like them. For me, an attractive and healthy person is one who has the correct weight for his/her height and body type. I think this way I guess, because that's what looks good to me, probably because of the brainwashing of media - magazines and TV. Also, no health product is advertised using a role model who does not have the perfect body. A person gains or loses weight when energy intake does not match energy expenditure. Each physical activity requires energy and the amount of energy depends on the duration and type of activity. Energy is measured in calories and is obtained from the body stores or the food we eat (Brianmac 2008). There are three components that mak... activity, and the thermic effect of food and adding them together is the most accurate way of determining how many calories the body requires each day. The basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the rate at which the body's energy supports the ongoing metabolic work of the body's cells such as heart beat, respiration and maintaining body temperature. For adult females the BMR is determined by multiplying body weight by 10 then adding the body weight to this value. Energy expended during physical activity contributes 20-30% to the body's total energy output. One of the most reliable methods in calculating calories burned during physical activity is the Metabolic Energy (MET) Method. The thermic effect of food is the increase in energy required to digest food and is determined by taking 10% of the total calories consumed (Pierson 2005). Based on the formula, the total calories that my body requires per day is 1,979. Food Intake Analysis results show that my calorie intake is only at 1,280. This means that I am taking in less calories than I expend. The long-term effects of this deficiency on my body would be weight loss which I would welcome if I felt I needed to lose weight. However, it can also result to the development of illnesses related to deficiencies in nutrients in my diet. Since I am female and 5 feet tall, according to the Weight Chart for Women of Health Check Systems (2008), for my medium body frame, my weight should be in the range of 113 to 126 pounds. My body weight corresponds to this weight range. I believe I am within range because I maintain a balanced diet and I do daily physical activity by tending to my garden. A method that is a common standard in the medical field to better estimate level of body "fatness" is the BMI or Body Mass Index. It has a