Everyday people look in the mirror and take a few moments to see how they look. Whether it is for trying on clothes, or just looking at their body, one can either like what they see or dislike what they see. The reasons may vary, but for some people an overweight body is a very stressful and hard to deal with situation. From 1995 to 2001 the number of obese Canadians aged 20 - 64 has grown by 24%. According to these figures obesity is on a massive rise within the general population of Canada. Things that have assisted with this drastic increase include: ever popular video game systems, computers, and all the things technology has to offer which make people less active. .
This essay will outline 3 types of weight loss programs available today that are on top of the market and help determine which program is suitable for the average over weight person. The weight loss programs include, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers and Tae Bo. The program that I believe that rises above all other weight loss programs is Tae Bo. Areas that will be looked at in depth are how restrictive the different programs are in terms of diet and exercise as well as the financial aspect. To begin with, body weight is controlled by the number of calories eaten and the number of calories used each day. This means in order to lose weight, the caloric intake has to be less then the caloric need. Caloric needs can be calculated using the Benedict formula or the quick formula. BMI which is body mass index is a measure of height divided by weight squared. It can help people see what category of they fit into. If the BMI is greater then 27, the individual is considered to be overweight. If the BMI is less than 18.5, individual is considered to be underweight. If the BMI is over 30 then the individual is obese and this can cause a lot of medical problems. Here is a sample chart, for a faster calculation of BMI.
.
As shown in the chart, the different categories would determine how strict of a diet the individual would need in order to drop down into the healthy zone.