Diet and
Nutrition for Women
How
do nutritional needs and diets change for women across their lifespans?
What is a healthy diet?
What weight is considered obese or overweight?
Where can I find more information about nutrition
and diet for the female athlete?
How can I determine how much fat is okay to
eat daily and have a healthy diet?
Are dietary supplements such as vitamins
and minerals important in maintaining a healthy diet?
There are many weight-loss programs; how do
you know which ones are safe and successful?
Should I take vitamins or other dietary supplements?
How much calcium do women need?
How do you get enough calcium without too many calories
and fat?
Do I need to take an iron supplement?
See also...
Eating
Disorders
Exercise
How do nutritional
needs and diets change for women across their lifespans?
The
effects of a woman's diet on her children start long before she
becomes pregnant. Stores of fat, protein, and other nutrients built
up over the years are called upon during pregnancy for fetal nourishment.
During adolescence and early adulthood, women need to increase food
rich in calcium to build peak (maximum) bone mass to reduce the
risk of developing osteoporosis, a progressive loss of bone with
aging that causes bones to be more susceptible to fracture. All
women need more iron than men since younger women lose iron through
menstruation. Caloric intake varies for each person based on age,
gender, and activity level, but for the most part, women between
23 and 50 should eat about 2,200 calories per day to maintain their
current weight, while older women need fewer calories. No one should
consumer fewer than 1,500 calories, even in attempts to lose weight,
according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA recommends
that everyone maintain healthy levels of fat and fiber intake through
out their adult lives.
What is a
healthy diet?
The
United States Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health
and Human Services have jointly issued a complete report on a healthy
diet titled "Nutrition and Your Health: Dietary Guidelines
for Americans" and "Food Guidelines for Americans".
Healthy diets follow the food guide "pyramid," which recommends
6-11 servings of complex carbohydrates, 2-3 servings each of fruits
and vegetables,1-2 servings each of dairy products and proteins
like meat, tofu, or beans, and sparing use of added fats and sugars.
In addition, the "Five A Day" Campaign is a national effort
to get Americans to eat at least five servings combined from the
fruit and vegetable groups per day.
What weight
is considered obese or overweight?
The
words obesity and overweight are generally used interchangeably.
However, according to the Institute of Medicine report, their technical
meanings are not identical. Overweight refers to an excess of body
weight that includes all tissues, such as fat, bone and muscle.
Obesity refers specifically to an excess of body fat. It is possible
to be overweight without being obese, as in the case of a body builder
who has a substantial amount of muscle mass. It is possible to be
obese without being overweight, as in the case of a very sedentary
person who is within the desirable weight range but who nevertheless
has an excess of body fat. However, most overweight people are also
obese and vice versa. Men with more than 25 percent and women with
more than 30 percent body fat are considered obese. The USFDA has
released a chart detailing recommended weights relative to height;
women should be in the lower end of their appropriate weight range,
according to the chart.
Where
can I find more information about nutrition and diet for the female
athlete?
Although
there are few governmental sources of information on this topic,
try searching Healthfinder to access government-selected (though
not necessarily endorsed) information sources.
How can
I determine how much fat is okay to eat daily and have a healthy
diet?
Your
personal 'fat allowance' depends on how many calories you take in
each day. Remember, the total fat in your diet should average no
more than 30 percent of your calories, and saturated fat should
be no more than 10 percent. The total fat and saturated fat grams
you should eat depends on how many calories you consume each day.
Check food labels to find out the number of fat grams (total and
saturated) in each serving.
Daily
Fat Intake
TOTAL
CALORIES
(per day) |
TOTAL
FAT*
(in grams) |
SATURATED
FAT**
(in grams) |
| 1500
|
50
|
15 |
| 1800
|
60
|
18 |
| 2000
|
65
|
20 |
| 2500
|
80
|
25 |
*
Amounts are equal to 30 percent of total calories (rounded down
to the nearest 5); the recommendation is to eat this much or less.
**
Amounts are equal to 9 percent of total calories; the recommendation
is to eat less than 10 percent of total calories as saturated fat.
Each gram of fat is equal to 9 calories.
Are dietary
supplements such as vitamins and minerals important in maintaining
a healthy diet?
Dietary
supplements have been prescribed by physicians to correct nutrient
deficiencies diagnosed. However, it has not been established that
large amounts of vitamins and minerals as dietary supplements will
help prevent or treat health problems or slow the aging process.
Daily multivitamin tablets may be beneficial to some people, but
the value of the supplement is dependent on many factors, including
eating habits and overall health. While some supplements only contain
some of the identified nutrients important to health, a well-balanced
diet provides all the necessary nutrients. Large amounts of some
supplements may actually upset the natural balance of nutrients
that the body maintains. If you have illnesses such as diabetes,
high blood pressure, or arthritis, you should check with your doctor
before taking any over-the-counter dietary supplements.
There are
many weight-loss programs; how do you know which ones are safe and
successful?
Almost any of the commercial weight-loss programs can work, but
only if they motivate you sufficiently to decrease the amount of
calories you eat or increase the amount of calories you burn each
day (or both). A responsible and safe weight-loss program should
be able to document for you the five following features:
The
diet should be safe, including all of the recommended daily allowances
for vitamins, minerals and protein and low-calorie, not low in essential
foodstuffs;
The program should be directed toward a slow, steady weight loss
unless your doctor feels your particular health condition would
benefit from more rapid weight loss. Expect to lose only about a
pound a week after the first week or two.
If you plan to lose more than 15-20 pounds, have any health problems,
or take medication on a regular basis, you should be evaluated by
your doctor before beginning a weight-loss program. Your physician
should also be able to advise you on the need for weight loss, the
appropriateness of the program you have in mind, and a sensible
weight loss goal for you.
The program should include plans for weight maintenance after the
loss phase is over. It should include help in permanently changing
your dietary habits and level of physical activity to alter a lifestyle
that may have contributed to weight gain in the past.
A commercial weight-loss program should provide a detailed statement
of fees and costs of additional items such as dietary supplements.
Should I take vitamins
or other dietary supplements?
The Federal Government’s approach to dietary intervention,
formulated by boards composed of nutrition scientist, generally
does not recommend supplementing the typical American diet with
vitamins or nutrients beyond the recommended daily allowances (RDAs),
nor does it suggest that some foods never be eaten. In contrast,
many alternative dietary approaches contend that no amount of manipulation
of the typical American diet is enough to promote optimum health
or prevent eventual chronic illness.
These
alternative approaches represent a continuum of philosophies ranging
from the concept that supplementing the typical American diet somewhat
beyond the RDAs is necessary to promote optimum health, to the idea
that supplementation well beyond the RDAs is often required to reverse
the effects of long-term deficiencies. Other approaches advocate
drastic dietary modification, either eliminating or adding certain
types of foods or macronutrients, to treat specific types of conditions
such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. Finally, there is the
view that certain major staples of typical American diet, such as
meat and dairy products, are basically unhealthy and should be generally
avoided.
There
is a growing body of data supporting the notion that the RDAs for
minerals, such as calcium and magnesium, may be too low and that
supplementation may be necessary to prevent the onset of chronic
diseases. In addition, the RDAs for a number of vitamins and micronutrients,
such as vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, folate, and beta-carotene,
may not be adequate to prevent chronic illness. For example, recent
studies have found that the RDA for folate may need to be doubled
for women as well as men.
The
FDA has said that a well-balanced diet will usually meet women's
allowances for vitamins and minerals. (See Recommended Dietary Allowances.)
However, for good health, women need to pay special attention to
two minerals, calcium and iron.
How much calcium
do women need?
Both
women and men need enough calcium to build peak (maximum) bone mass
during their early years of life. Low calcium intake appears to
be one important factor in the development of osteoporosis, a disease
in which bone density decreases and leads to weak bones. Women have
a greater risk than men of developing osteoporosis.
Therefore,
particularly during adolescence and early adulthood, women should
increase their food sources of calcium. According to one FDA spokesperson,
the most important time to get a sufficient amount of calcium is
while bone growth and consolidation are occurring, a period that
continues until approximately age 30 to 35. The idea is, if you
can build a maximum peak of calcium deposits early on, this may
delay fractures that occur later in life.
The
recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for calcium for woman 19 to
24 is 1,200 milligrams per day. For women 25 and older, the allowance
drops to 800 milligrams, but that is still a significant amount,
says Stephenson. "The need for good dietary sources of calcium
continues throughout life," she says.
How do you get
enough calcium without too many calories and fat?
Dairy
products are powerhouses of calcium, but they needn’t be high-fat.
Use 1 percent or skim milk instead of whole milk or cream, and choose
from lower fat cheeses, yogurts, frozen yogurts, and ice cream substitutes.
In
addition to dairy foods, other good sources of calcium include salmon,
tofu (soybean curd), certain vegetables (for example, broccoli),
legumes (peas and beans), calcium-enriched grain products, lime-processed
tortillas, seeds, and nuts.
Do I need to
take an iron supplement?
For
women, the RDA for iron is 15 milligrams per day, 5 milligrams more
than the RDA for men. Women need more of this mineral because they
lose an average of 15 to 20 milligrams of iron each month during
menstruation. Without enough iron, iron deficiency anemia can develop
and cause symptoms that include pallor, fatigue and headaches.
After
menopause, body iron stores generally begin to increase. Therefore,
iron deficiency in women over 50 may indicate blood loss from another
source, and should be checked by a physician.
Animal
products--meat, fish and poultry--are good and important sources
of iron. In addition, the type of iron, known as heme iron, in these
foods is well absorbed in the human intestine.
Dietary
iron from plant sources, called non-heme, are found in peas and
beans, spinach and other green leafy vegetables, potatoes, and whole-grain
and iron-fortified cereal products. Although non-heme iron is not
as well absorbed as heme iron, the amount of non-heme iron absorbed
from a meal is influenced by other constituents in the diet. The
addition of even relatively small amounts of meat or foods containing
vitamin C substantially increases the total amount of iron absorbed
from the entire meal.
For more information...
Check out the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition's
(CFSAN's) list of FAQ's.
You can find out more about diet and exercise by contacting
the following organizations:
American Dietetic Association
Food and Nutrition Information Center
National Institute on Aging
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney
Diseases
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
Food and Drug Administration
Weight Control Information Network
This information was abstracted from fact sheets including
those developed by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive
and Kidney Diseases, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute,
the National Institute on Aging, the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, the Office of Alternative Medicine of the Department
of Health and Human Services and from the Food and Drug Administration.
The above information is presented with permission
from the Office on Women's Health in the Department of Health and
Human Services.
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