ABSTRACT
In Chapters 2 and 5, a diet and lifestyle program for the general population designed to maintain healthy body composition on an individual basis is described. A key principle centered on dietary protein at levels greater than those generally recognized as required by government agencies. The physiology behind this idea centered on matching protein intake to the energetics and composition of the body. Many of those so-called healthy individuals in industrialized countries, even at normal body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference, are already overfat to some degree due to a sedentary lifestyle and unbalanced nutrition (Thomas et al. 2012). In this chapter, the overtly or obviously obese patient based on BMI criteria presenting to primary care practices is the focus of discussion. While overfatness is a hidden epidemic requiring increased vigilance toward prevention, the obviously obese require a coordinated program of care.
