VIJAYAWADA: Nowadays, majority of the people follow strict diet and give up all the sedentary pleasures to reduce weight. In reality, there are quite a lot of people for whom gaining weight is a challenge. If you are one among those who want to gain some weight, you should strictly follow the tips suggested by the nutritionists and fitness trainers.
According to nutritionists, a person needs to take in more calories along with nutritious food to gain weight. However, it is hard to provide good quality proteins to vegetarians because of the limited sources available like oatmeal, butter, yogurt and cheese, where as non-vegetarians can gain weight by adding eggs, lean red meat, chicken, oily fish and shellfish in their regular diet. “Poor eating habits, huge gap between meals, poor selection of food, increased physical activity without increasing the food intake can lead to energy deficit. These are some of the reasons for several people being underweight,” says Rahul Manvi, fitness trainer at Gold’s Gym.
To gain weight people should initially aim to increase appetite by eating 5-6 meals per day. However it is important for a person to break the meals into parts, as eating a lot at once may result in indigestion and body may not be able to absorb all the nutrients, he said.
“Lack of protein in your diet can also lead to the loss of lean body mass, even if you’re consuming excess calories,” says Madhavi Latha Pinnamaneni, a dietician. Before beginning any major weight gain programme, one should consult a physician or a dietician. Being underweight may indicate an underlying health issue, which won’t be corrected by diet changes, she said.
“Many people often have trouble gaining weight. It is not a good idea to eat mega meals at fast food joints or high fat foods to gain weight. An effort like this will increase your body fat, putting you at risk of health problems. Rather work on improving your diet,” says G Durgesh, fitness trainer at Talwalkars-Gym-Health Club. One should also remember that weight gain does not happen overnight. One should focus on eating healthy food to stay fit. People who really want to gain weight naturally should eat six small healthy meals per day. Eating small meals of nutrient dense foods also optimises the smaller stomach capacity and provides structure, he added.
According to one study, being underweight was associated with a 140% greater risk of early death in men, and 100% in women.
Being underweight can also impair immune function, raise your risk of infections, lead to osteoporosis and fractures, and cause fertility problems.