Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, nutritionist of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation Viktor Tutelyan: when choosing products you need to be able to read the label, take into account their chemical composition.
Nutician Tutelyan spoke in conversation with Sputnik radio about the growing problem of obesity among Russian citizens. More than half of the adult population (62%) is overweight – according to the scientist, this situation is catastrophic.
“This is a catastrophe. Obesity leads to a reduction in life expectancy and to the development of a whole bunch of various diseases, primarily the cardiovascular system: atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction – these are the things that cause us to lose people. This is, in addition, diabetes, the incidence of which, unfortunately, is growing,” Victor Tutelyan shared his opinion.
He drew attention to the fact that there is a dilemma in modern society. On the one hand, nutritionists recommend limiting the amount of food consumed, on the other hand, such a restriction does not allow the body to obtain vitamins and other useful substances from food.
“The beneficial substances that we need – vitamins, minerals, biologically active compounds – are, as it were, dissolved in the matrix of products. To get them in the right quantity, you need to eat a lot. Eating a lot is an excessive caloric intake,” the nutritionist said.
Tutelyan believes that there should be more products on the shelves that are enriched with valuable nutrients and do not contain sugar and unhealthy fats – this will help prevent obesity. At the same time, the nutritionist emphasized that people themselves should be aware of the importance of food composition and its effect on weight. Knowledge of the chemical composition of products helps in the fight against obesity, and when purchasing them you need to “be able to read the label.”
“It is important to pay attention not only to calorie content, but also to the content of proteins, fats, polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, by a percentage of the daily requirement,” the expert stated.
Earlier, the MedikForum.ru portal wrote that a number of fats cannot be excluded from the diet (doctors Elena Malysheva and German Gandelman spoke about this).
Important! Information is provided for reference purposes. Ask a specialist about contraindications and side effects and under no circumstances self-medicate. At the first signs of illness, consult a doctor.
Viktor Tutelyan Healthy lifestyle, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, chief freelance specialist nutritionist of the Ministry of Health of Russia