Men's Dietary Health: Scientific Calculation of Weight Standards and Dietary Rehabilitation Guidelines for Four Types of Chronic Diseases

The Health Effects of Overnutrition

Excessive intake of nutrients is also detrimental to health. Obesity is a risk factor for many chronic diseases, and everyone should be aware of their weight. Here are the methods for calculating weight:

Standard weight (kg) for children aged 7-12 = Age × 2 + 7 (or 8)

Standard weight (kg) for children aged 13-16 = [Height (cm) - 100] × 0.9

Standard weight (kg) for adults (height 165cm and above) = Height (cm) - 100

Standard weight (kg) for adults (males under 165cm) = Height (cm) - 105

Standard weight (kg) for adults (females under 165cm) = Height (cm) - 100

If the actual weight is within ±10% of the standard weight, it is considered normal weight; +10% to 20% is overweight; greater than 20% is obese; -20% to -10% is underweight; and less than 20% is severely underweight.

For example, a male is 170 cm tall and weighs 90 kg. His ideal weight = 170 - 100 = 70 (kg).

Compared to ideal weight: Actual weight - Ideal weight / Ideal weight × 100% = (90 - 70) / 70 × 100% = 28.5%

Assessment: Obesity

Obesity is often related to factors such as genetics, personality, appetite, and emotions, with appetite being the most important. Overeating is often the main cause of obesity. Obese patients mostly love to eat foods rich in fat and protein, such as cakes, sweets, and meat. When the energy intake exceeds the energy expenditure, the excess energy is converted into fat and stored in the body. Lack of necessary physical exercise also leads to more energy accumulation and less energy expenditure, resulting in fat accumulation and obesity.

If a person has already started to gain weight during adolescence, it is unnecessary to forcibly adopt dieting methods to lose weight, as this may affect normal physical development. Dietary adjustments can be made, increasing the intake of foods rich in vitamins and fiber, such as fruits and vegetables, and decreasing the intake of pure starch and foods high in fat and protein, such as grains, potatoes, fatty meats, and sugars. By paying attention to adjusting dietary components, cultivating good eating habits, and appropriately increasing exercise, the weight of obese individuals can be controlled. It is worth mentioning that dietary control must be carried out under the guidance of a doctor.

Dietary Recommendations for Common Diseases

Because the physiological activities of various organs and tissues in the human body are coordinated, once an illness occurs, even a common cold or flu can affect digestion, respiration, and other organs. In the case of chronic or infectious diseases, due to increased energy expenditure, poor appetite, and insufficient nutrient supply, a person will gradually become thin and weak, posing a greater threat to health. Therefore, patients should adjust their daily diet according to their specific condition to ensure it suits their digestive and absorptive abilities while also promoting nutritional supplementation and recovery.

A patient's diet is generally categorized into three types based on the specific disease or stage of the same disease: regular diet, soft diet, and liquid diet. A regular diet is the typical daily diet of a healthy person, allowing for the consumption of various foods without dietary restrictions. However, for chronic wasting diseases, appropriate nutritional supplements should be added according to the individual's condition to replenish the body's energy reserves. A soft diet falls between a regular diet and a liquid diet, including foods such as porridge, rice porridge, and lotus root starch. This type of diet generally contains little fiber or residue, making it easy to chew and digest, and is suitable for patients with poor gastrointestinal function (such as those with chronic gastric ulcers). However, because soft diets are high in water content, they also contain relatively fewer nutrients and calories. Therefore, it is necessary to add nutrients such as meat floss or egg custard to the soft diet to compensate for the nutritional deficiencies. Since soft foods are easily digested, patients will experience hunger at regular intervals. Therefore, a strategy of eating small, frequent meals can be adopted to regulate this, adding a soft food or snack between the three main meals.

Liquid diets are foods that are completely dissolved into liquid, such as milk, rice water, and chicken soup. Liquid diets are suitable for patients with high fever, acute infection, or those who have just undergone surgery. Because these patients have poor appetite and weakened digestive and absorption functions, they cannot adapt to soft foods. These patients should also eat small, frequent meals. In addition to the above-mentioned types of diets, patients' diets are also divided into high-protein or low-protein diets, high-calorie or low-calorie diets, high-residue or low-residue diets, low-oil diets, and low-salt or salt-free diets according to their condition. For example, patients with kidney disease should be given small, frequent meals, patients with wasting diseases (such as tuberculosis) need to eat more high-protein foods, and patients with diarrhea should try to eat low-residue foods.

Dietary recommendations for common diseases:

(1) Viral hepatitis: The dietary principle for patients with viral hepatitis is "three highs and one low," namely, high protein, high carbohydrates, high vitamins, and low fat. The main purpose is to increase nutrition, compensate for the body's consumption, and enhance the body's disease resistance. However, since most hepatitis patients have reduced appetite and poor digestion, their daily diet should be as diverse as possible, and attention should be paid to cooking techniques to promote their appetite and digestive function. When liver function is poor or there is cirrhosis, protein intake needs to be controlled to prevent hepatic coma. Excessive intake of sugars or fats can lead to fatty liver. When cirrhosis is accompanied by ascites, salt intake (including salted meat, pickled vegetables, and other preserved foods) should be limited. Fresh beans and vegetables rich in vitamins B and C play an important role in energy metabolism and cell repair and can be frequently consumed.

(2) Pulmonary tuberculosis: Since pulmonary tuberculosis is a chronic wasting disease, in addition to drug treatment, increasing the patient's nutritional intake plays an important role in promoting the improvement and recovery of the disease. Patients with pulmonary tuberculosis should, based on their individual conditions, appetite, and adaptability, appropriately increase their intake of protein, carbohydrates, various vitamins, and minerals in their normal diet to compensate for excessive bodily consumption. Protein can repair lesions, carbohydrates and fats are the main sources of energy, and various vitamins and minerals participate in the physiological functions and metabolic activities of various organs. Vitamin D, in particular, helps with calcium absorption, which is essential for the calcification of pulmonary tuberculosis lesions. However, the diet should be tailored to the patient's needs; overeating is not advisable. Generally, a daily calorie intake of 2500-3000 calories from food is sufficient to replenish energy expenditure and maintain a normal weight. There are no dietary restrictions; patients can adjust their diet according to their own habits, but a diverse diet is crucial to ensure comprehensive nutrition. Garlic contains bactericides and has a certain therapeutic effect on pulmonary tuberculosis. It can be eaten in moderation (raw or cooked with the skin on). Fresh air, warm sunlight, and appropriate activity are also important for patients.

(3) Chronic diarrhea: Chronic diarrhea has a long course, lasting for months or even years. Patients experience high energy consumption, therefore requiring supplementation with high-protein, high-calorie, and vitamin-rich foods. Fat has a lubricating effect on the stomach and intestines, which can exacerbate diarrhea and is difficult to digest; therefore, food intake should be controlled. Foods high in fiber (such as leeks and celery) can irritate the gastrointestinal tract, accelerate intestinal peristalsis, and exacerbate diarrhea; these should also be eaten sparingly. However, foods low in fiber often lack vitamins, especially vitamin C. Therefore, fruits low in fiber and rich in vitamin C (such as apples) can be eaten as a supplement, and vitamin C preparations can be taken if necessary. Sour, spicy, and other irritating foods, as well as raw, cold, and gas-producing foods (such as soybeans and radishes), should be avoided or eaten sparingly to prevent exacerbating diarrhea. Because patients with chronic diarrhea have poor digestive and absorptive functions, their daily diet should be flexibly selected according to their condition.

(4) Chronic Nephritis: The diet of patients with chronic nephritis should be adjusted according to their kidney function, paying attention to the amount of protein and salt. Those with good kidney function should eat more high-protein foods such as meat, fish, milk, eggs, and soy products to replenish the protein lost in urine. Those with poor kidney function should reduce their protein intake. Patients with hypertension and edema should limit their daily salt intake to about 3 grams, or eat a salt-free diet (using soy sauce instead) to avoid increasing the degree of edema. Those without obvious symptoms and with good kidney function can eat a normal diet.