All sectors of the population are becoming increasingly Obese, with 77% of men over the age of 64 years, in the UK, being overweight.  Figures for women in that age range are similar, although the percentage is slightly lower. Over the past 10 years the percentage of the population in the UK who are overweight has increased by 50%.  Similar trends are shown for younger adults, and even childhood Obesity is rising.  Figures from the United States are also staggering, with more than 60% of people overweight, out of which 30% of those are Obese.  Figures from the United States indicate that 300,000 people die each year from obesity-related diseases.  Such a large number of overweight and Obese people are bound to put a strain on healthcare resources.

Most people who are overweight want to lose weight more than anything, if they only knew where to start - and, starting is probably the most difficult part of any weightloss campaign. One way to obtain support is through alternative therapies such as hypnosis which, when use properly, is very effective in re-establishing healthy eating patterns.  Too many people look on it as a quick fix but, if hypnosis is used to alter eating patterns then you stand a better chance of succeeding.  It might be enticing to think about losing weight quickly but rapid Weight Loss can put a strain on the body and needs to be carefully medically supervised.

There is a lot of professional help available if you really do want to lose weight and an initial check-up by your doctor is essential to make sure any health problems you might have are treated along with the obesity.  The doctor can either advise you about dieting and exercising but is more likely to refer you to a dietician if you fall within the Obese group.  With the help of a dietician you can agree on an eating plan that is suitable for you to follow long-term and get appropriate advice on an exercise programme.  If necessary a dietician can also refer you to a physiotherapist if they consider specialist help is needed to get a suitable exercise programme underway.

There are all sorts of self-help groups available, from slimming groups to informal groups of friends meeting just to provide support.  There are now many online slimming websites which can help you maintain a healthy eating pattern, with food plans suitable for most life-styles.  Most people want to lose weight too quickly and, when they don’t, they feel cheated and give up.  You can only lose weight at the speed your body metabolises food and, although there are ways to incrementally increase metabolism to burn calories faster, you need self-discipline and patience. Don’t focus on the whole problem as it is simply too big.  Look at just losing a few pounds before you focus on the next hurdle.  That way you are more likely to succeed.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 29th, 2008 at 6:11 pm and is filed under Obesity. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.