Question

Case Study

Lynn is a 39 year old woman that is obese, with a BMI of 42. She is a stay at home mom with three young children, ages 9, 7, and 4. She says that she has tried many diets and had limited success, and has been unsuccessful at losing her pregnancy weight. While she does provide her kids with three meals/day, Lynn often skips breakfast and has 2 cookies with coffee around lunch, and then will eat dinner with the kids. She often eats junk food and sodas at night when she is doing homework for her online classes to stay awake. Lynn recently decided that her only option was to try a fad diet where she drinks only water and is only allowed to eat from 12pm-6pm. The only foods she can eat on this diet are cabbage soup, lean turkey, egg whites, and green vegetables (raw).

1. What are the dangers of fad diets?

2. What are the dangers of Lynn’s chosen fad diet? Why or why not do you feel she will be successful with this approach?

3. What suggestions would you have for Lynn in regards to her food intake and diet?

4. What do you see as “roadblocks” or could be things that make it difficult for Lynn to lose weight and meet her goals?

5. In regards to her lifestyle, what kinds of changes can be made/ suggestions can you make to help her meet her weight loss goals?

Answer 1

Answer:

Dangers of fad diet:

• Fad diets are unhealthy and does not provide complete nutrition
• Fad diets can cause rapid weight loss and consists of monotonous diet plans

Dangers of Lynn's chosen fad diet:

• Lynn's chosen diet provides incomplete nutrition and severely restricts the types of foods.
• It can cause serious health problems
• Lynn's chosen fad diet can cause dehydration and weakness

Suggestions:

• Diet should consist of balanced amount of carbohydrates, proteins and essential nutrients
• Diet should include fiber based foods
• Diet should meet daily calorie requirements based on sex, age and weight

Roadblocks:

• Lynn has to reduce her consumption of junk food and she should avoid drinking sodas at night
• Lynn currently has Inconsistent diet times. She should eat her meals on time and should not skip meals.

Recommended lifestyle changes:

• Lynn should reduce her sugar intake
• Lynn should Increase physical activity
• Lynn should eat her meals on time