Education and the Fight Against Obesity
By Jay B. Rea, Founder and CEO, TheAcademy.com
This is an unhappy message—but it has the potential for a happy ending. We are all aware of the obesity crisis in America today, but here are some relatively new (and disturbing) facts:
- Obesity is now perceived as a bigger threat to health than smoking, drinking and poverty. It has reached alarming proportions in United States with a sharp increase in the number of obese people.
- Ambulances are being fitted with extra wide gurneys and ramps to accommodate overweight patients.
- Ferries in Washington State have reduced the allowable capacity because of the dramatic increase in obesity among American adults.
- 577,190 deaths from cancer are projected to occur in the U.S. in 2012. The American Cancer Society estimates that about one-third of cancer deaths in 2012 will be caused by tobacco use and another third will be related to overweight or obesity, physical inactivity and poor nutrition.
- Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. and strokes are the third leading cause. Being overweight increases the risk of both.
- Our children are now so overweight that 27 percent are rejected for the military and one general claims we are getting too fat to defend ourselves.
- According to researchers from the University of Oxford and Columbia University (as published in the August 2011 issue of The Lancet medical journal), if current obesity trends continue, half of people in the U.S. will be obese by 2030. Further, there will be 7.8 million more people with diabetes, 6.8 million cases of coronary heart disease and stroke, and 539,000 extra cases of cancer.
Most organizations across the country have created Health & Wellness Programs, and are very happy to broadcast their success. But are they really successful?
The Centers for Disease Control doesn’t seem to see it. The CDC says that America’s obesity epidemic is proving to be as stubborn as those maddening love handles, and it shows no sign of reversing course.
More than one-third of adults and almost 17 percent of children were obese in 2009-2010, echoing results since 2003, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported.
“It’s good that we didn’t see increases. On the other hand, we didn’t see any decreases in any group,” said CDC researchers.
In 2009-2010, more than 78 million adults and almost 13 million children aged 2-19 were obese, the CDC researchers reported.
Those numbers are staggering, and while they haven’t increased in recent years, “we’re plateauing at an unacceptably high prevalence rate,” said Dr. David Ludwig, director of an obesity prevention center at Children’s Hospital Boston. He was not involved in the reports.
The CDC also says 300,000 annual deaths are attributed to obesity but the number could be much higher. Solving our national epidemic of obesity will not be easy, but we can no longer afford to ignore the fact that it has a tremendous cost to all of us.
What to do?
People can lose weight, but most of them need counseling to be successful and stick to it. They must commit to a lifestyle change. They must change their eating habits for good.
Preventive care counseling generally offers expert advice and education on a particular health area. Each counseling session should be designed to encourage a lifestyle change.
Medical professionals (doctors, nurses, counselors, etc.) are the best choice for providing preventive care education. But who has the time?
Between greater patient loads, the concentration on specialty care and acute care, a requirement for more government paperwork, and insurance compensation that is usually below costs, healthcare professionals just don’t have time to sit and counsel patients about preventive care.
For these reasons, preventive care becomes a much lower priority than the immediate patient health issue. Counseling a patient on the “how” and “why” of behavioral change just isn’t a priority for most medical professionals, even thought they know the importance for their patients’ sake.
But if the individual doesn’t know how to lose weight or and doesn’t have a plan, permanent weight loss isn’t going to happen.
The facts are: people would change a behavior much more successfully if they could begin with a short educational guide to get started. Virtually every seasoned expert or instructor in Behavioral Change Concepts understands the validity of this point.
Now, here’s better news.
Educators and psychologists agree that to make a lifestyle change, the first steps are:
- Decide what to change.
- Learn why to make that change.
- Learn how to break the status quo.
- Commit to a plan to make the change easier.
- Get support and encouragement while making the change.
A simple counseling and educational program—not overwhelming—could make a huge difference. If they don’t lose weight, it’s not because they haven’t been equipped with the knowledge to do it.
And if it’s offered online, so much the better. People can participate in the privacy of their own home or office, and get a well-established basis for a weight loss program.
And here’s the happy news.
If a person needs preventive care counseling, a program is available. It offers the tools and knowledge to lose weight, or to manage any one of seven more health issues. It’s called The Guide to Weight Loss.
The Guide to Weight Loss is part of the Guides to Health, a terrific program covering eight areas of preventive care. The topics include Weight loss, Smoking Cessation, Stress Management, Alcohol Management and Cessation, Physical Activity, Heart Health, Diabetes Management, and Better Nutrition.
These online programs deliver the same material as preventive care counseling. This material has been used by thousands to lose weight, eat better and exercise more. When used by an overweight or obese person, this Guide will show them the basic principles that preventive care counseling would.
Armed with the knowledge of how to lose weight, the big winner will be the overweight American individual. And that makes us all winners.
