Who came up with this brilliant idea?……. The NHS is now supplying the funding to offer zumba classes and cookery classes to help the obese. I am so speechless I actually do not know where to begin. At the risk of repeating myself – obesity is complex. If it was just about cooking healthily and dancing then we wouldn’t have any obesity in the country at all! Because it really is that simple isn’t it? There are hundreds and hundreds of cookery programmes on tv, free healthy recipes on line and in newspapers. We can dance around our kitchen while we are cooking and be slim. So it’s easy isn’t it? …..
Apologies for my sarcasm……..but when is the NHS gong to provide funding for GP’s to look at obesity as a more complex problem. An obese person overeats it is as simple as that, but what is complicated is why they overeat to such an extent that they become severely overweight. That is the complex issue that needs to be addressed, not dance classes and cookery lessons. Obesity can be as a result of binge eating/emotional eating/food addiction. It involves using food as a crutch, using food to change emotions, using food to alleviate boredom, using food to deal with stress, using food as a reward – and yes a lot of the population who are not overweight probably use food for all the above, however, we are dealing with a different group of people. We are dealing with obesity and the serious negative consequences that are a result of overeating. We are dealing with people who may have tried over and over again to lose weight and not succeeded. The negative consequences are many not just health but there are often social problems, relationship breakdowns, possible employment difficulties, lack of motivation possibly affecting the work place or education, low self-esteem, low self-worth .These are the issues that need to be looked at…… IT IS NOT JUST ABOUT WEIGHT …
When will the NHS start to recommend Overeaters Anonymous (www.oagb.org.uk) as a support group for those struggling with obesity? They recommend Alcoholics Anonymous – don’t they? When are they going to offer a complete package of treatment, which will include healthy eating and activity but also must absolutely include psychological treatment to help patients deal with the serious problem of obesity?
Rochelle Craig
http://www.piecebypiecerecovery.co.uk
