Weight Management
 
 
People who are overweight or obese are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease and diabetes. They are also at greater risk of having other contributory factors for heart disease such as hypertension, high LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, and low HDL (“good”) cholesterol. If your Body Mass Index (BMI) exceeds the healthy weight range for a person of your height, weight management is recommended: losing just 10% of your current weight can significantly reduce your chances of developing weight-related coronary risk factors. For diabetics in particular, weight and dietary control are essential because diabetes makes them more vulnerable to high blood pressure, cholesterol disorders, and atherosclerosis.
 
Read more: Diabetes and Overweight / Obesity as Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease
 
Below are some ways of shedding excess body weight:

  • work out how much weight you need to lose and set yourself a realistic time frame for achieving this goal – in general, attempting to lose more than 1 kg a week is not only potentially dangerous, but also more likely to cause you to lapse in your weight loss resolutions;
  • follow a sensible diet which contains a variety of food as exemplified by the Healthy Diet Pyramid guide to eating
  • Exercise regularly as this helps in weight control – start gradually and slowly aim to slot in three to five exercise sessions weekly of at least 20 minutes per session;
  • do not skip meals as this is likely to cause you to snack in between meals or overeat at your next meal – instead, make it a point to eat three regular meals (including breakfast) a day;
  • use smaller plates when you eat so that you will take smaller portions of food.
 
Alternatively, with a referral letter from your cardiologist or family doctor, you may join a hospital-based weight managed programme. Such programmes are available at:
 
Alexandra Hospital
http://www.alexhosp.com.sg
Weight Management Clinic
Tel: 6476-8828
 
Changi General Hospital
http://www.cgh.com.sg
Sports Medicine Clinic
Tel: 6850-3333
 
Singapore General Hospital
http://www.sgh.com.sg
Dept of Dietetics & Nutrition Services
Tel: 6321-4801
 
Where diabetics are concerned, weight management has traditionally been implemented through a strict no-sugar diet. Increasingly however, dietitians are advocating a heart-healthy meal plan instead. This combines the conventional emphasis on minimizing the intake of sugar and sweet foods with the more recent goal of improving diabetics’ blood lipid profiles. Thus, diabetics who are seeking to lose weight or maintain their weight within a healthy range should:

  • cut down on their sugar intake – for instance, by drinking plain water instead of sweetened drinks, substituting sweet desserts with fresh fruits, and replacing sugar with artificial sweeteners (such as aspartame) as much as possible;
  • minimise the saturated fat in their diet – this can be done by replacing hydrogenated fats (for example, lard, ghee) with poly- or monounsaturated fat such as corn oil or canola oil;
  • eat more fibre, especially soluble fibre, so as to lower their levels of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels – for instance, by taking wholegrain bread instead of white bread, and brown rice instead of polished rice.
 
With a doctor’s referral, diabetics may also obtain specialised professional advice on weight management at the following institutions:
 
Alexandra Hospital
http://www.alexhosp.com.sg
Diabetes Centre
Tel: 6476-8828
6379-3838 (24h hotline)
 
Changi General Hospital
http://www.cgh.com.sg
Diabetes Centre
“Skills for Life: Diabetes” programme
Tel: 6850-2310
 
Diabetic Society of Singapore
http://www.dss.org.sg
Tel: 6450-6132/6142 (Ang Mo Kio centre)
Tel: 6564-9818/9819 (Hong Kah centre)
Tel: 6398-0282 (Boon Keng Road centre)
 
Singapore General Hospital
http://www.sgh.com.sg
Diabetes Centre
Tel: 6326-5570
 
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