According to The NHS Information Centre 26% of all men and
women aged 16 and over in England were classified as obese in 2010 (see:
The NHS report also cited an earlier 2007 study (by the
Foresight team at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills), which
projected that by 2025 47% of men and 36% of women would be obese. That’s virtually half the male population and just over a third of the female population.
Sobering figures on many counts – not least the fact that men lead the
way on the obesity stakes.
Yet, this seemingly
inexorable rise in obesity is occurring at a time in history when access to
information has never been higher. Who,
these days, doesn’t know about healthy eating and the importance of
exercise? It’s impossible to avoid such
information – rarely a day goes past without a magazine, newspaper, television
programme or Internet news site carrying an article or dire warning about
weight, health, diet and the health dangers of being overweight or obese.
It’s been estimated that the
UK government has spent over £2bn tackling obesity (including public
information advertising) in the last ten years see: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/mar/11/obesity-children-healthcare-food-industry
Can we consider this a productive investment when the
results are exactly the opposite of intended?
Could, in fact, this endless diet of advice and coercion be one of the
factors fuelling our ever-expanding waistlines?
There is certainly no doubt that many overweight people feel
beleaguered by the constant pressure to conform to society’s views on
attractiveness and the statistical norms of what constitutes a healthy weight
for one’s age and height.
The ‘diet industry’ must also be part of the problem rather
than part of the solution. How many
millions of people worldwide have tried every fad diet going only to find they
go back to square one, or worse, end up heavier than they were before they
started dieting?
Over the years I have worked with many people to help them
lose weight. Sometimes with fantastic
results, sometimes not. Many people
consult a hypnotherapist hoping that they will be ‘hypnotised’ slim. The truth is, except in very rare cases, this
passive way of approaching change simply doesn’t work. As with all therapeutic change clients must
be active agents in the process.
Issues around weight are rarely straightforward. It is undeniably true that if we take in more
calories than we expend we are going to store those extra calories – typically
as body fat. At one level it really is
that simple. But as anyone who has ever
battled with a weight issue knows, things in real life just aren’t that
simple. We might know, or sense, that
our diet provides more calories than we need, and/or that we do not do enough
exercise – but this knowledge alone does not lead to change. We might be full of good intentions and yet
still find that we eat ‘all the wrong things’.
Over the last few months I have been working with a
nutritional therapist – Kate Lomax (http://www.nutritioncliniclondon.co.uk/pages/therapist.php)
- developing an integrated programme which combines nutritional, dietary and
lifestyle advice with hypnotherapy and psychotherapy. This genuinely holistic approach is designed
anew with each client. Some people
might, for example, benefit from a more coaching/motivational approach, other
people might benefit from a more in depth approach exploring limiting beliefs
from childhood and so on.
So, if you are struggling with a weight issue and are not
sure where to turn to next, why not book an initial consultation with Kate and
myself? This one-hour meeting, with no
charge, gives you the opportunity to meet us, find out about the programme, and
decide for yourself whether our new approach is the answer you’ve been looking
for.
Contact David on 07941 061795 or via email:
david@corehypnosis.co.uk
© David Corr September 2012
David is a UKCP registered hypno-psychotherapist who
has also trained to Master Practitioner level in NLP. He offers integrated
psychotherapy and hypnotherapy at The Waterloo Body Station, The Aston Clinic
in New Malden and also in Epsom, Surrey. For more information please contact
David via his website: www.corehypnosis.co.uk
