You ate your way through the sumptuous lunch and dinner tables at Christmas parties, family reunions, Noche Buena, and Media Noche, and now it’s the first month of the new year. What do you do?
If your answer is “go to a gym,” you’re not alone. Based on research, gym sales and attendance increase by about 25 percent each January—a clear sign of people making good on their New Year’s Resolution to get fit.
Then there are those who go see experts like Maricar Esculto-Khan, RND, MD, an Internal Medicine & Medical Nutrition Specialist from Makati Medical Center (MakatiMed). “A lot of my patients consult me in January because they’re looking for an appropriate diet plan as part of their New Year’s Resolution,” she says.
Under her guidance, they end up with much more than that. As a medical nutrition specialist, Dr. Esculto-Khan ensures her patients achieve not just the desired six-pack abs or a nice low number on the weighing scale, but a healthy lifestyle. “When you speak of ‘healthy lifestyle,’ it means a life with a low chance of developing diseases, or worse, dying early due to diseases,” she explains.
It is a goal that demands urgent attention. According to the Expanded National Nutrition Survey conducted by the Department of Science and Technology-Food and Nutrition Research Institute in 2021, 14% of children aged 5 to 10 years old, 13% of pre-teens and teens from 10 to 19 years old, and 40.2 percent of adults are considered overweight or obese.
Diabetes, the fourth leading cause of death in the country, affects 7.1% of the adult population, 2.65% of them under the age of 45. More disturbing is the fact that there are at least 2.8 million Filipinos living with undiagnosed diabetes.
As for cardiovascular disease, the number one cause of mortality among Filipinos is seen more and more among those aged 40 and below, owing to habits like smoking, binge-drinking, and sedentary living.
In Dr. Esculto-Khan’s practice, patients in their 20s are already taking medication for diabetes and hypertension. “These diseases, as well as heart attack, stroke, obesity, and fatty liver, can be avoided if you follow a healthy lifestyle,” she points out.
A consult with specialists like Dr. Esculto-Khan begins with her looking into your medical and diet history: the former to check on family ailments and preexisting conditions, the latter to see what you’ve been eating that led you to this point. Don’t be surprised if Dr. Esculto-Khan invites your mother or the family cook to the interview. “The one who prepares the food is part of the counseling,” she explains. “In managing a patient, the whole family should be included.”
Be open and honest too about questions related to your lifestyle. Your answers to “Do you smoke or vape?”, “Do you drink?”, “Are you physically active?,” and “How many hours of sleep do you get?” will help determine your current state of health and how to improve it.
Diagnostic tests are part of Dr. Esculto-Khan’s systemic approach to nutrition assessment. She’ll use non-invasive devices and machines to get your body measurements, indirect calorimetry (or how much energy your body uses), and body composition (or your percentage of muscle mass, fat mass, and body water). Blood workups will also be done to gauge your complete blood chemistry, blood sugar, lipid profile, and others.
From the results of the assessment, a nutrition care plan tailormade to your specific health concerns will be recommended by a dietitian.
According to Dr. Esculto-Khan, a common issue among her patients is that they don’t know how to prepare their own food—and if they do, they just don’t have the time to do it. This makes fast food burgers and deep-fried chicken with white rice the easiest way for a busy person to eat. Some are just too loaded with work; they skip a meal altogether.
Enter The Healthy Rexipes, healthy packed meals that MakatiMed Weight Wellness Center can arrange for outpatients. Available in 1,200-calorie, 1,500-calorie, and 2,000-calorie sets of three (3) main meals and two (2) snacks, the packed meals can cover your food requirements for five (5) or seven (7) days.
With set meals like these, patients have no excuse not to stick to their weight management plan. “We don’t view diets as short-term,” shares Dr. Esculto-Khan. “Just because you achieved your target weight doesn’t mean you’ll go back to your old eating habits.”
That is something you are not likely to do, especially when you begin to see and feel the rewards of your efforts—from better-fitting clothes and more energy to participate in sports to reaching your ideal weight and blood pressure. Dr. Esculto-Khan and her team also keep tabs on patients through assessments every three (3) months and short follow-ups with the dietitian to see to it that they stay on course.
“From my experience, once a patient seeks a consultation, their commitment to change their lifestyle is already there,” she says. “Because someone is monitoring them, they now have a sense of accountability. And once they’re properly guided by the experts, they become more successful in reaching their goals.”
Article based on the Doctors on TV guesting of Maricar Esculto-Khan, MD last January 15, 2023.
To schedule a consult with Dr. Esculto-Khan, call (+632) 8888 8999 local 2137, or visit her clinic at MakatiMed Tower 1, Hall C Room 120. You may also fill out this form and a representative from MakatiMed Weight Wellness Center can assist you on your weight management inquiries: bit.ly/3J80ZKw
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