OBESITY is a growing concern in South Africa. That’s according to leading local gastric bypass surgeons. What’s more the lifestyle diseases associated with obesity include type 2 diabetes, hypertension and heart disease.
Charlene McIntosh a psychologist in a team supporting gastric bypass patients of general surgeon, Dr Gert du Toit, and Dr Ivor Funnell at Netcare St Augustine’s Hospital said while gastric bypass surgery was an increasingly popular treatment option for appropriate patients, surgery alone cannot address the unhealthy relationship with food that leads to obesity.
“Often people reward or comfort themselves with food, which is eating for psychological rather than nutritional reasons, and, over time, this can become deeply ingrained and may lead to obesity. Another driver of obesity in South Africa is that our social interactions tend to revolve around eating. For people who are grappling with their weight, this can make it even harder for them to exercise self-control,” McIntosh said.
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“A key aspect of changing people’s emotional reliance on food is replacing comfort eating or reward eating with another pleasurable activity,” McIntosh added.
According to McIntosh people who have lost a lot of weight may have some difficulty reconciling the changes in their bodies. “Some patients have managed to get down to a healthy weight but will still turn sideways to go through doors,” she said.
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She said some people eat because they are hungry, others for psychological or social reasons. She stressed the need to redefine relationship with food. Instead of organising time together around food, the person’s social circle to rather meet for a walk or other activities that do not centre around eating.
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