We now understand Boris’s strategy is in fact the increase in surgical intervention to cure obesity. The Prime Minister has lost a stone and five pounds since his intensive care stay, no doubt highly motivated after his health scare and wishing to set a good example.
The Telegraph article quotes Professor Francesco Rubino, Chair of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery at King’s College London saying, ‘renewed vigour for surgical intervention is much-needed’.
Prof Rubino explains. “The ability of surgery to reduce … the risk of having cardiovascular disease – especially in patients with obesity or type 2 diabetes – becomes significant,” and “makes even more sense [than for those in other groups].”
One example in this article quoted a man called Del Singh who had a BMI of 53.3, was taking medication for high blood pressure, cholesterol and lower back pain and “had just wandered into the minefield of type 2 diabetes,” he remembers. “I was a walking heart attack waiting to happen and I was costing the NHS a fortune.” Within 12 months of his gastric sleeve operation, which reduces the stomach’s capacity to around 15 per cent, he lost 10st – (going from 24 stone 5lbs to 14 stone 5lbs) and soon after, came off all of the pills he was taking.
He turned to surgery because his life was at risk.
Prof Rubino says. “People for whom obesity requires surgical intervention are people for whom there is no alternative… Lifestyle intervention is always useful and appropriate even in patients who have had surgery, but they are not a replacement.”
There is an alternative – fasting. Not eating anything could be a much better solution than surgery. The world recorded fast lasted 382 days during which the patient suffered no ill-effects. However, this was done under medical supervision. You can fast in a number of different ways, from just a few hours. This was an extreme example. You don’t need surgery to stop eating or to lose weight. And surgery only ‘allows’ you to reduce the total quantity of food eaten, it doesn’t advise which foods to favour or which to better exclude. And the body then compensates with a reduced metabolism.
Of those who do lose weight after surgical intervention most people gain it back. Others lose no weight at all and have awful side effects. One lady, Clare Parker, who after severe complications, said she estimated that she has put around half of the weight back on.
Statistics on regaining weight after weight loss surgery vary widely due to the range of procedures it can involve and the definition of ‘failure.’ This can be as high as 70 per cent.
Other weight loss studies show poor long-term outcomes. Some as much as a 99% failure rate. After six years nearly all contestants from ‘The Biggest Loser’ – a US Weight loss reality TV, show had regained the weight they had lost. This is due to slower metabolisms, and appetite/hunger staying the same or increasing.
That is all so defeatist. After all the trauma of surgery, eating less and doing more exercise, these people are failing, even though they are doing what they have been told to do. No wonder they blame themselves! It is such a complicated problem. There is no single solution.
Surgery may be one medical solution. But wouldn’t a government strategy using all of the approaches that have successful outcomes packaged together to each individual fix the problem better, not only straight away but for forever, addressing the root cause.
It is not only what we eat but why we eat, and when we eat. It is physical, it is emotional, it is environment based and it is very personal.
Baby Steps
Dr Hensrud, director of the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program in an article for Mayo clinic says we need baby steps to solve the obesity problem. He says,
“There are many outside factors that influence obesity,” explains Dr. Hensrud.
One factor is what we eat. He says the food supply has changed, and people are eating a lot of processed, higher-calorie foods.
“If we’re going to reverse this trend, it’s going to require cooperation of many different areas in society,” Dr. Hensrud says. “All of us have some responsibility, but it’s hard. It’s like swimming upstream, but it’s not impossible. We can each do some things, take baby steps, do a little bit more activity, change our diet a little bit and do it in a practical and enjoyable manner to make these habits sustainable.”
I believe you can achieve a lot more than you think you can in a year and you can achieve a lot less than you think you can in a day. Small habits or upgrades in lifestyle are the difference between success and failure.
Have you ever thought about switching out one food for another? It’s as simple as not going food shopping “on an empty stomach”! Try bean sprouts instead of noodles with your next Thai or Chinese recipe, or order stir fry mixed veggies instead of fried rice for your next takeaway. Have you ever even tried Bamboo shoots? (I’ve tried them but never bought them!) If you were to replace one food with another, over a year this could result in a 10lb weight loss. On the flip side, if you have an extra small bar of chocolate or couple of biscuits every day, this could lead to a 10lb weight gain.