Weight Maintenance Vocabulary

I have what I think to be some fantastic ideas for the blog, including a tutorial on the current front of pack labeling schemes and how they might be of use while also being of concern.  I will put this together as soon as I can.  

I have made my way to the Appendix of the IOM Phase 1 report and it too is fascinating.  Tonight I am going to share some of the definitions from the glossary - they are verbatim and the so the source will follow.

I found the ones that I am sharing with you to be most illuminating. I especially want to point out the discretionary calories definition.  Read it below and then consider the following:  We have a certain amount of calories that we need in a day to meet our expenditures.  If you consistently go over or under the amount needed to sustain your weight - your weight will change.  Having extra calories (more than is necessary to maintain functioning)  on Thanksgiving is not likely to matter, having extra calories every weekend will. 

I have two snacks almost every afternoon as part of my total daily intake.  They might both be nutrient dense; hummus or laughing cow low cal cheese, for example.  Or instead one could  be a 100 calorie hostess cupcake pack.  On the weekend when I have a beer or a "deedee" sour, I skip one of those snacks - those are discretionary calories and I get to decide what to do with them, but I still have to count them, so to speak.

Select Definitions from the IOM Phase 1 Report 2010

Balanced diet
The overall dietary pattern of foods consumed that provide all the essential nutrients in the appropriate amounts to support life processes, including growth and development in children, without promoting excess body fat accumulation and excess weight gain.

Energy balance
A state where calorie intake is equivalent to energy expenditure, resulting in no net weight gain or loss. In this
report, energy balance in children is used to indicate equality between energy intake and energy expenditure
that supports normal growth and development without promoting excess weight gain.
Energy expenditure**
Calories used to support the body’s basal metabolic needs plus those used for thermogenesis, growth, and physical activity.  **(which do you have the most control over?)

Discretionary calories
The balance of calories remaining in a person’s “energy allowance” after consuming sufficient nutrient-dense
forms of foods to meet all nutrient needs for a day. Discretionary calories may be used in selecting forms of
foods that are not the most nutrient dense (e.g., whole milk rather than fat free milk) or may be additions to
foods (e.g., salad dressing, sugar, butter). A person’s energy allowance is the calorie intake at which weight
maintenance occurs.

Added sugars
Sugars eaten separately or used as ingredients in processed or prepared foods, such as white sugar, brown
sugar, raw sugar, corn syrup, corn syrup solids, high-fructose corn syrup, malt syrup, maple syrup, pancake
syrup, fructose sweetener, liquid fructose, honey, molasses, anhydrous dextrose, and crystalline dextrose. May contain oligosaccharides. These do not include naturally occurring sugars such as lactose in milk or fructose in fruits. FDA defines added sugars as sugars or other ingredients added during processing or packaging that functionally substitute for sugars, such as fruit juice concentrates, jams, and jellies, including ingredients that may functionally increase the sugars content of a food, such as enzymes (21 CFR 101.60 (c)(2)).

Healthful diet
For children and adolescents, a healthful diet provides recommended amounts of nutrients and other food
components within estimated energy requirements (EERs) to promote normal growth and development, a
healthy weight trajectory, and energy balance. A healthful diet also reduces the long-term risk for obesity and
related chronic diseases associated with aging.

Percent Daily Value (%DV)
Percentages found in the Nutrition Facts panel on food labels that describe the nutrient contribution of the
food to a 2,000-calorie diet for most nutrients. A high percentage means a serving of the food contains a lot
of the nutrient, and a low percentage means it contains a little.  [this does NOT mean that you should consume 2000 calories a day - only that the % fat or protein, etc listed on the box is based on that amount of calories as a reference]

IOM. Examination of Front-of-Package Nutrition Rating Systems and Symbols: Phase I Report, 2010. 

To note:  Recall that I recently stated I was blissfully busy - this is still so and I mean blissfully!  The irony is that I cannot give the blog much of my attention but the people who read my blog are my inspiration.  You are the primary reason for which I am investing myself in this doctorate program.  So please know that even while I am unable to write - I am always thinking of how to apply my knowledge  to inform the health of others - especially you.