When fat is not the issue

Overweight or underweight?

Anorexic, bulimic or obese?

However diverse the symptoms the cause may be very similar.

Malissa Jones is 21 years old and once held the dubious title of ‘Britain’s Fattest Teenager’.  She is now suffering from anorexia.

At her heaviest of 34 stone she was eating 15,000 calories a day, more than seven times her energy requirements.  To save her life she had a gastric band fitted, saw the weight drop off and became pregnant.  Her son, Harry, was delivered by caesarean section six months into the pregnancy.  Malissa was suffering from liver failure and Harry, malnourished due to Malissa’s eating issues, died an hour after being delivered.  In an interview with Closer magazine Malissa said she doesn’t know whether she will survive on her current 300 daily calories but can’t force herself to eat.

Malissa has shown two very opposite symptoms but the cause is the same: her relationship with food is out of balance going from one extreme to another.  The gastric band just helped her change the effect rather than remove the cause.

And this is where most of the solutions available for weight loss are just wrong.  It’s rarely as simple as cutting down on calories and taking more exercise.  The reasons why we overeat or undereat have nothing to do with calories.  It’s about obsessive behaviour and the focus is food.

The only way you can break it is by pulling apart the old relationship and building a new one which is not easy and not quick.  Unfortunately too many people want the quick and easy and spend years and lots of money pursuing the promises that the commercial weight loss industry make.

Malissa’s story is interesting and heart breaking.  I only hope she can find the help now that she should have had in her teenage years.

Jackie Notman is a feng shui consultant and healer.  In her e-book ‘Diets Don’t Work’ she has pulled together a step – by step plan that will help you balance your relationship with food.  This article is from her blog ‘Life – and everything else’ where you’ll find an eclectic mix of articles and information.

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If it’s in the hospital it must be okay

Today’s Mail on Sunday (UK) ran a feature on the growing problem of type 2 diabetes in people under 40.  This is an obesity related condition and is threatening to cripple the NHS in the future as younger people are becoming obese and needing medical care for longer.

The article featured diabetologist Dr Richard Savine who had been part of a recent Channel 4 series ‘The Hospital’.  Dr Savine and his team, based at Mayday University Hospital in Croydon, had problems convincing the young patients that they had to change their lifestyles including their attitude to diet and exercise.

Perhaps hypocritically, the same hospital is one of 40 NHS trusts that rent out space to fast food chains such as Burger King, Subway and Upper Crust.  In fact, his patients will encounter these when they arrive at hospital to be given advice about healthy eating.

When asked about the decision to allow such places on hospital property Dr Savine said that the quality of hospital food was good and that it didn’t matter ‘whether the burger bar is in reception or next door’.

One of Dr Savine’s patients was also interviewed for the article.  She said ‘I’ve lost weight and then gained it back again.  I’ve seen dieticians and been given leaflets so I know what healthy eating is.  But there is a big difference between knowing what is right and doing it.’

And this really explains the whole obesity problem.  On the one hand the answer is simple: eat less and exercise more.  On the other hand, people’s individual relationships with food are complex and include physical, mental and emotional reasons so telling them to eat less isn’t going to do it.

So, whilst Dr Savine may be right when he says it doesn’t matter where the burger bar is he is ignoring the NHS’s responsibility in supporting these people.  Because there is no doubt that the availability of high calorie fast food is a contributory factor to obesity and, by allowing such outlets into the NHS space they are sending out a very subtle message of approval.  ‘If it’s in the hospital it must be okay.’

Jackie Notman is a copywriter, feng shui consultant and e-commerce retailer.  This article is from her blog ‘Life – and everything else’ where you’ll find an eclectic mix of articles and information.

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You have permission to publish this article as long as the tagline (above) with links is included and no changes are made to the article. A courtesy copy of your publication or link would be appreciated.