BMI
Article Type: Food facts From: Nutrition & Food Science, Volume 42, Issue 3
A quarter of the UK population has an obese body mass index (BMI), yet a new survey shows that only 6 per cent of us believe that our weight problem is severe enough to be classified as “obese”. Slimming World’s Annual National Slimming Survey, conducted with YouGov, suggests that the rapid rise in obesity in recent years has caused weight problems to become “normalised”,meaning as many as 10 million people are unaware that their weight is placing their health at risk. However, while the survey found that some three quarters of us with a severe weight problem are in denial about our true size and see“obesity” as something that happens to other people, it also found that emotional worries about our weight still make us deeply unhappy. More than one in three people who are very overweight feel that weight is “the most important issue in life” and up to half feel “embarrassed”,“ashamed”, “disgusted” and “trapped” by being overweight. According to Slimming World we reject the “obese” label because of how it makes us feel about ourselves and because constant worry and feelings of guilt and shame make slimming down and being in control feel impossible. So we put on a good show, denying that anything is wrong and telling ourselves that everyone’s getting bigger so it does not matter.
Dr Jacquie Lavin, Slimming World’s Head of Nutrition and Research, says:“This worrying new data reveals the complex psychological issues associated with being overweight. Many people – including many health professionals – believe that managing weight is just about energy balance,and that people simply need to “eat less and exercise more”. However,that approach can never work while so many people deny how severely their weight could be affecting their health by increasing their risk of diabetes, heart disease and stroke or while they struggle with the emotional burden of being overweight, which can affect their confidence in their ability to make healthy lifestyle changes. As individuals, we need support to tackle the deep-rooted psychological issues around how we feel about our weight before we can begin to make those changes”.
Dr Lavin continues: “Studies of behaviour change show that helping people to lose weight is not just about giving them information and lecturing them on what they should and shouldn’t eat. It’s about encouraging and empowering people to want to make the change for themselves. When it comes to weight management, it’s as much about tackling deep-seated emotional and psychological issues as it is about providing practical help around diet and activity”.
