The requirements of the paper is posted below 

I will pay 20 dollar tip on top of the work if done correctly

 

Assignment 2: Evaluation of a Weight Loss Program

Many Americans believe that they are overweight, by a few pounds to a few hundred pounds. Because of this, weight loss systems are big business. For this assignment, you are to select a weight loss system and evaluate it in terms of the information about the physiology of ingestive behavior covered this module.

• Find a website, a brochure, a popular article, or an advertisement about weight control that proposes a mechanism for loss of excess weight.
• Document the key proposals in terms of the main claims for success of the program (e.g., restriction of fat and small portions).
• Describe the reasons provided for the effectiveness of the program (e.g., a full stomach reduces hunger).
• Discuss the physiological components involved in the weight loss program. Clearly express an understanding of the physiology of the process of hunger, satiation, eating, and drinking as relevant for the weight loss method being described (e.g., long periods between meals would be likely to reduce blood sugar levels).
• Present a critique of the materials based on the module information on eating and weight regulation.
• Evaluate the proposal and suggest whether you would try this weight loss system or recommend it to someone else. Explain why or why not.

For this assignment, you are required to cite, at a minimum, the online course and the textbook for the course. Additional sources are welcome. Scholarly sources are preferred and can be found in the Argosy University library located under theAcademic Resources section of Course Home. For reputable web sources, look for .gov or .edu sites as opposed to .com sites. Do not use Wikipedia.

Your paper should be double-spaced, in 12 point Times New Roman font, and with normal 1-inch margins; written in APA style; and free of typographical and grammatical errors. It should include a title page and a reference page. The body of the paper should be between 3 and 4 pages. Save the paper as AU_PSY350_M4_A2_LastName_FirstInitial.doc. Submit your response to the M4 Assignment 2 Dropbox by Wednesday, October 14, 2015.

Assignment 2 Grading Criteria	Maximum Points
Documented the key proposals in terms of the main claims for success of the program.	12
Discussed reasons provided for the effectiveness of the program.	12
Discussed the physiological components involved in the weight loss program.	20
Presented a critique of the materials based on information on eating and weight regulation.	20
Evaluated the proposal and provided reasons as to whether you would try this weight loss system or recommend it to someone else.	16
Wrote in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrated ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; and displayed accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.	20
Total:	100

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Weight Watchers Program & Its Physiological Mechanisms

Jaquetta R. Stevens

Argosy University

Physiological Psychology | PSY350 A01

Faculty: Renee Sullivan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many individuals daily strive to lose weight and in this process they chose to find programs that work best for them. When it comes to finding a great program, I believe that individuals want to find something that works with their schedule and is proven to get great results in the least amount of time. I have researched many companies and have found that although there are companies who promote weight loss, there are only a few that have been proven to work. One of the companies that I decided to chose as a great program for weight loss is called Weight Watchers.  The Weight Watchers program is suggested to be one of the most popular when it comes to weight loss. The scope and the concept behind the program are briefly analyzed, followed by a review of the physiological processes that are involved in the changes produced during the participation in the Weight Watcher.

The paper concludes that the program is relatively effective, but highlights some of its potential flaws and ways to solve them. Weight Watchers is one of the most popular program for weight loss, and it was developed by Weight Watchers International, a company with a large history in the development of products designed to reduce weight. The Weight Watchers program is supposed to be based on a scientific approach that helps clients to lose weight by developing better eating habits, practicing in regular exercises and receiving support. In order to join the program, one must have a weight of a  minimum of 5 pounds more than the minimum weight that the company would consider healthy according to one’s height (WeightWatchers, n.d.).

One of the most noticeable features of this program is the fact that its diet plan does not include direct comparable requirements and no type of food is considered to be off limits. For this reason, it attracts many individuals that find it difficult to renounce to their favorite foods, yet they want to lose weight. More so, since the program allows the consumption of a large variety of foods, it is suited for vegans, vegetarians, and those who need to limit fat or salt (WeightWatchers, n.d.).

The Weight Watchers program can be implemented in two different ways. This program can be done in person or online. While both programs use the same computations and materials, in person meetings encourage participants to select a goal weight, preferable one that is accepted as healthy (WeightWatchers, n.d.). Weight Watchers can be used together with other diet approaches-including food intake restrictions- which allow participants to use the program’s framework as a mean to measure and limit the food consumed while using a different diet plan to establish the range of foods that can be consumed (WeightWatchers, n.d.) The current version offered by Weight Watchers in the United States is called PointsPlus, a version which supposedly incorporates a decade of research in weight loss, and its focused on assisting participants in creating a calorie deficit to lose weight by using a reformulated calculation method for computing target daily points, that is, for computing an approximate number of calories that should be eaten per day and the costs (Point Plus values) of food. (WeightWatchers, n.d.).

For most clients, Point Plus aims at creating a 1000 calorie per day deficit. The value in points that food receive does not only depend on the quantity of the food but also on its nature. For instance, carbohydrates and fats have much higher values that vegetable, which have Point Plus values of 0. Members of the program who incorporate physical activities are allowed to consume a higher number of Plus Points per week (Weight Watchers, n.d.). Once a participant has reached a goal weight, a maintenance period is prescribed, which has duration of six weeks within which the participant must gradually adjust the food intake until he/she no longer gains or losses weight. In the case where at the end of the maintenance period the participant’s weight is within 2 pounds of the goal weight, he/she becomes a Lifetime member (Weight Watchers, n.d.).

The proponents of the program believe that unlike a diet, Weight Watchers is a lifestyle change program, which promotes healthier behaviors that are meant to last, and consequently, the achieved goals within the program are meant to last much after a participant has finished the program(Weight Watchers, n.d.). The physiological underlying process that makes this program work is that it creates a calorie deficit in the participants. Since participants can eat whatever they want but in lower quantities, less times between meals is required to pass before the body begins to take nutrients from long-term reservoirs, most of which is stored as fat. More so, participants are expected to learn how to control their hunger through short-term satiety, as the taste and odor of the foods that they are allowed to consume contribute to short-term satiety, hence, it allows the body to learn when to stop eating. Since a body that is under the program should burn fats more often by consuming food in lower quantities according to their PlusPoint values, weight loss is expected (Besio&Marusek, 2014).

Personally, I would recommend this program to anyone who wants to lose weight. While the program clearly isn’t perfect, it does seem to be more effective than most weight-loss program that is currently on the market. For instance, research shows that individuals who participated in the Weight Watchers program for 12 weeks lost an average of 5% of their initial body weight, which means around 9 pounds. Nevertheless, it has been argued that a large percentage of the lost weight was lean tissue instead of fat. Since lean tissue correlates with higher metabolism, it means that individuals who have less lean tissue are likely to have more difficulties in burning calories (Ahern, Olson, Aston & Jebb, 2011).

While Weight Watcher’s effects on lean tissue questions the effectiveness of the program, it does not cancer all of its positive properties. For example, since the program’s approach focuses on foods that are low in calories and rich in nutrients, it can be said that it’s appropriated for individuals with high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, and cholesterol (Besio & Marusek, 2014). One of the mistakes that the program arguably does is to allow the consumption of an unlimited amount of fruit. Since fruits contain a lot of fructose, they are a source of fat, which might impede participants that are carbohydrate addicts to lose additional weight that could be loose if the amount of allowed fruit consumptions would be limited within the diet(Ahern, Olson, Aston & Jebb, 2011).

I believe that it is recommended that the program incorporates some limits in regards to the quantity of fruits that participants are allowed to consume per week, and perhaps this change would enhance the effectiveness of the program. In conclusion, Weight Watcher’s program is one of the most popular and effective weight-loss programs that currently exist within the United States. Its approach is attractive because it allows participants to consume the food they like, with the only condition that they limit their consumption in accordance to a point system established in accordance to the caloric value of each food item.

The fact that the program allows the consumption of a large variety of food also make it appropriated for those who are vegans, vegetarians, and others who refuse to consume certain food products for a variety of reasons. Finally, probably one of the mistakes that the program does is allowing unlimited fruit consumption, a problem which will hopefully be addressed in the following version of the program.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reference

Ahern, A. L., Olson, A. D., Aston, L. M., &Jebb, S. A. (2011). Weight Watchers on          prescription: an observational study of weight change among adults referred to Weight       Watchers by the NHS. BMC Public Health, 11(1), 434.

Besio, K., &Marusek, S. (2014). Losing it in Hawai'i: Weight Watchers and the paradoxical          nature of weight gain and loss. Gender, Place & Culture, (ahead-of-print), 1-16.

You have nothing to lose (but weight). (n.d.). Retrieved October 13, 2015, from            https://www.weightwatchers.com/us