Coping with… OBESITY

You can do things to reduce your size and help your health, says Dr Melanie Wynne-Jones

- Dr Melanie Wynne-Jones

Over half of UK women and two-thirds of men are overweight or obese. Most of us would like to be a healthy weight, yet we struggle to lose – and keep off – even a few pounds. Why?

Life changed – we snack, graze and eat out more, constantly encounter high-calorie convenience foods and sugary drinks, and our work, social and emotional lives often revolve around food and alcohol.

We’ve also been steered towards high-sugar substitutes for high-fat foods and are less active, thanks to cars, computers and labour-saving machines and gadgets.

But weight loss may not be a simple matter of eating less and moving more. Our brains can mistake dieting for starvation, and try to make us eat/conserve more energy.

Researchers are increasingly saying that hormones (chemical messages) between our stomachs and our brains can affect whether we feel hungry or full, and the way we store energy (calories).

Why is being overweight so bad?