Why are we not able to address the obesity problem in this country? We are not the only ones. The United States, Mexico, New Zealand, Hungary and Australia are on par with or behind the United Kingdom in the fight against obesity. Obesity and the diseases it causes are well documented on television and online. Why doesn’t the message get through? The information is there.

Cultural shifts towards fast foods have had a huge impact on our eating habits. 30 or 40 years ago, fast food was only available at fish and chip shops. McDonald’s was just getting started in the UK at the time.

‘Apps’ like ‘Hungary House’ make it very easy to order food. One click on the button on your mobile and that’s it. You just have to make the effort to get up from the couch and walk to the front door. What a hard job!

Eating habits are the key to a healthy diet. It starts from the day you are born. The foods your parents introduce you to set your eating habits for life. If you eat a balanced diet of fruits, vegetables and meat from the beginning, you get used to it. Going the other way around, if you are introduced to a lot of sweet, high-sugar foods at a young age, this becomes your norm. Sugar, of course, has that added appeal to kids. The sugar rush and sweet taste are just too hard to resist. Food markets know this and strive to tempt everyone, especially children. The sweets are always close to the box, at a height where it is right under the noses of the youngsters.

What can be done?

We are creatures of habit. It is in our nature. Changing addictive habits like sugar or smoking is not easy to do. Ads focused on the harmful effects of smoking changed people’s perspective. The stark images of blood clotting from the end of a cigarette brought home the ill effects on health.

This type of advertising applied to the high consumption of sugar and salt could be powerful… but it has to be a sustained campaign. The anti-smoking campaign has been going on for more than 20 years. The ‘truth’ campaign aimed at eliminating teen smoking in the United States began in 1999. The teen smoking rate was 23% at the time. In 2016, the number dropped to 6%.

The Government needs to invest in the campaign against sugar. The NHS faces even greater pressure when dealing with patients with food-related illnesses.

With the population constantly increasing, the next 50 years could be a nightmare for health care. It could be avoided, but only with the will to do something about it.

Obesity increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders, cancer, depression, and anxiety. People with severe obesity are three times more likely to require social care than those with normal weight. This includes hospitalization and associated health and social care costs.

The NHS estimated the cost of obesity for 2006/7 to be £5.1 billion. The costs account for obesity medication, increased use of bariatric surgery, and new equipment to accommodate larger people.

education is key

My son is a personal trainer. He runs what are known as ‘Weight Shift Classes’. It is interesting what he has to say about his experience teaching these classes.

He says, “We like to keep a variety of exercises to keep the interest there. One week, it will be pull-ups and pull-ups, shoulder press, and leg press. Next week, it will be more cardio with some free weights like dumbbells and kettlebells.” Another week could be kettlebells and TRX in a circuit training format, still weight based, but you keep the intensity and heart rate up.

He says about the diet: “I really try to educate them about how bad sugar is, and too many ‘carb’ foods…lots of pasta, rice, chocolate candies, fizzy drinks. The number one reason for obesity is sugar. No I will not monitor or measure what you eat, but I will give you an idea of ​​what you put in your body. Whether or not they change their diet is up to them. I just plant the seed in their mind, give them the knowledge they need. So they have a choice to follow it or not.”

Do you measure your weight loss?

Yes, we do weigh-ins regularly. Typically, the customers who see improvements are the ones who stick with the program. I have clients who have listened to what I have advised and have seen good results. At the same time, I have given advice to other clients and they have found it more difficult to follow.

How long does it take to lose weight?

Some clients lose up to 2 pounds per week. Some can even lose 4-5 pounds per week.

A basic goal of 2 pounds per week for a period of 3 to 4 months is a big loss. About 1¾ stones.

Do you look at his fat percentage?

Yes, it is very important to take into account the percentage of fat, not only the loss of body weight. If you weigh 60 kilograms, you have to ask yourself the question, 60 kilograms of what? You can break that down into body fat, muscle mass, bone density, and water retention. We can measure all of that, so you can really see all the parts that make up your total body weight. So we focus much more on body fat, because you could lose muscle mass. That would be unhealthy. This is why we focus on weight training to maintain muscle mass…and encourage high protein intake to maintain muscle mass.

So after say 6 months, surely your clients should be able to go out on their own without your help.

Sure, 6 months later, you would have learned a lot, experimented with different exercises, recorded the exercises, so you have them to go on. For 6 months, you would have done these exercises so many times, it would be like second nature… Then after such a long time, you don’t need to be pampered anymore, you know what to do, you can go out on your own. So it’s like a life lesson.

So you don’t encourage people to starve themselves to lose weight?

“Oh no, starving yourself is like a quick fix, but it’s quite harmful to the body. You have to see food as fuel. It’s like putting wood on a fire. It will keep your blood as fuel. The fire goes out.” “. , your metabolism shuts down. Keep your metabolism high and you’ll be burning calories all day. Look at bodybuilders, they’re constantly burning calories, but they’re never hungry, but they barely have any body fat.”

Keeping the weight down is something that requires dedication, self-determination, and self-discipline.

With a little help from knowledgeable professionals, it’s very doable. Self-drive is needed to achieve weight loss goals. Nowadays there is a lot of help from places like YouTube and online articles. You never have to feel alone with weight loss. It pays to stay healthy until old age. We are very happy. We have never been as informed about health as we are today. There should be less obesity than 30 years ago, not more!