Question

Ellen is a 55-year-old woman with multiple medical problems, including chronic back pain. She is 66 inches tall and weighs 286 pounds. She takes medications for high blood pressure and hypercholesterolemia, both of which are currently under control. She also takes pain medications every day and has difficulty walking, although she occasionally attends a water exercise class at the local sports center. She states that she has been overweight most of her life and confesses that foods, especially sweet foods, are a comfort to her when she experiences physical or emotional pain. Her diet history reveals an intake of two or three cans of ginger ale or root beer each day. Her usual meals with her husband include meat or chicken (she does not like fish) and vegetables, such as corn or potatoes. She snacks on several types of frozen desserts between meals. She enjoys milk on occasion but admits that it is not a part of her regular diet. A recent visit to her doctor reveals a weight gain of 15 pounds over the past six months and an increase in her fasting blood glucose level into the "pre-diabetes" range. She has no family history of diabetes. Her doctor has recommended she lose weight and make lifestyle changes to prevent her from developing diabetes.

Answer 1

There are some recommendations Ellen should take into account in order to improve her general health condition , such as:

She should follow a diet that includes a higher intake of fiber and phytochemicals .

Added sugars from desserts and soft drinks should be reduced and eventually eliminated since this is a factor that is helping her gain weight and increase her cholesterol levels.

In order to decrease her risk of cardiovascular disease trans fat should be reduced to less than 1 % of daily calories .

She should have daily physical activity.