The obesity crisis has been looming in the UK for a while now. Government initiatives to help people lose weight, have been largely ineffective as obesity rates continue to soar in the UK. However, recently there have been reports of people thinking about their weight and implementing a healthier lifestyle
Obesity and it's health implications
We all know that obesity can have a big health implications for us all. Statistically if you're obese you are more likely to suffer from cancer, heart disease, strokes and your life will statistically be shorter than someone who isn't obese. We all know these facts, yet obesity level have been rising steadily. As a Hypnotherapist, I work with obese and overweight people and very rarely do I meet a client who doesn't know that they are damaging their health by being overweight or obese. They also know exactly what they should and shouldn't eat, so preaching this to people very rarely helps them. In my experience, people trying to lose weight want empathy and understanding.
So why do people still make the wrong food choices?
Primarily, it's because as a society, we generally link emotions to food, whether those emotions are happy or sad emotions. If we are sad, which a large number of us are in modern day Britain, then we can make bad food choices when we are feeling sad. We think cake will cheer us up and it does in the short term, but long term we are just entering a vicious cycle. During lockdown many of us put on weight and we also found out that Covid 19 can target Obese people.
62% of people who died from Covid 19 were obese.
The Government have now launched an initiative to target Covid 19 in a bid to help people lose weight. Any Government initiative is welcomed but this must be backed up with an increase in Mental Health services. There is overwhelming evidence that overeating can be linked to mental health issues for a large number of people, so it's vital that these issues are addressed with the physical aspects of losing weight.
Change is slow but it can be done
Losing weight can be hard. It involves changing your life completely and addressing eating habits that have been developed over a lifetime, but it can be done with some help both physically and mentally. Hypnotherapy or Counselling can help to explore weight loss options and help you on your journey, to a healthier you. Get in touch with us if you'd like to discuss either of these options for weight loss.
Comments