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.
Below are some ways of shedding excess body weight:
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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; |
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follow a sensible diet which
contains a variety of food as exemplified by the
Healthy Diet Pyramid
guide to eating |
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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; |
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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; |
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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:
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Alexandra
Hospital
www.alexhosp.com.sg
Weight Management Clinic
Tel: 6476-8828 |
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Changi General Hospital
www.cgh.com.sg
Sports Medicine Clinic
Tel: 6850-3333 |
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Singapore General Hospital
www.sgh.com.sg
Dept of Dietetics & Nutrition Services
Tel: 6321-4801
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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:
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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; |
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minimize 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; |
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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
specialized professional advice on weight management at
the following institutions:
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Alexandra
Hospital
www.alexhosp.com.sg
Diabetes Centre
Tel: 6476-8828
6379-3838 (24h hotline) |
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Changi General Hospital
www.cgh.com.sg
Diabetes Centre
“Skills for Life: Diabetes” programme
Tel: 6850-2310 |
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Diabetic Society of
Singapore
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)
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Singapore General Hospital
www.sgh.com.sg
Diabetes Centre
Tel: 6326-5570
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