- Client is able to verbalize understanding of body and energy needs.
- Client is able to identify factors that predispose to weight gain.
Just like everything else, people have different preferences for foods they consume. There are many factors that determine what foods a person eats (Kushner & Kushner 2009, p.28). In addition to personal preferences, there are environmental, economic, religious, social, cultural, and even political factors (Agelidou 2006, p.202). What influences an individual’s preferences can be very different from that of others’, so as to their knowledge regarding diets and health practices (Sunyer 2009, p.58). Food and the amount of food that are considered normal and healthy to some individuals might actually be very damaging to their health (Gemson et al. 2008, p.280). In order to successfully assist the client to manage her weight healthily, the essential first step to take is helping her gain a basic understanding on how energy is converted from daily consumption of food, how the human body uses this energy, why this energy is needed, how much food is needed daily to gain the needed amount of energy, how excessive food intake can lead to excessive weight gain, and how excessive weight gain can negatively impact her health and her current conditions (Rulaz et al. 2007, p.519). Moreover, without a basic understanding of body and energy needs, it is quite unlikely that client can recognize the need of modifying her diet habit and lifestyle, which are some essential measures to be implemented in managing her increasing weight(Lee et al. 2010, p.1176). However, contributing factors for weight gain can be manifold; besides excessive food intake being the most common cause of weight gain, medications like steroids, antidepressants; lifestyles like stress, lack of sleep; general physical factors like menopause, inflammation; diseases like thyroid problems, liver dysfunction can also be some underlying causes of weight gain, and they need to be...