Weight Management

		Terry Brown, MPH, RD/LD Section Editor, Weight Management Clinical Instructor, Department of Clinical Nutrition UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas

A healthy lifestyle
Posted: July 2005
Source: UT Southwestern Health Watch

This week on Healthwatch, we're talking about weight and your health. While many people try to lose weight in order to improve their appearance, the best reason to lose weight is to improve your health. Only about 3 percent of adult Americans meet all the requirements for a healthy lifestyle: not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, eating plenty of fruits and vegetables and exercising regularly.

Lona Sandon, a registered dietitian who teaches clinical nutrition at UT Southwestern Medical Center, says there are some steps you can take to improve your health. If you're overweight, make an appointment with a registered dietitian who specializes in weight loss to help you develop an eating plan. Try to add one serving a day of fruits or vegetables to your diet every week. If you exercise during every commercial break while you watch television, you can increase your activity levels.