Conditions
Obesity
Obesity occurs when somebody is carrying too much body fat for their height and sex and it is one of the biggest problems facing the western world. Morbid obesity is when somebody has a Body Mass Index (BMI) exceeding 40, and sufferers will frequently suffer from breathlessness, excessive sweating and joint pain. They also open themselves up to a host of additional health worries, from heart disease to breast cancer. Lack of exercise is the most common cause of obesity, but there are other causes as well, including some disorders of the thyroid gland. In most cases, the only treatment needed is a reduction in calories and increased exercise. In more extreme cases, drugs can be prescribed that suppress the sufferers apetite, and as a final resort, a gastric band can be fitted which artificially reduced the sufferers stomach size.
Watch our video with Dr Christian about childhood obesity and how to prevent it.
Comments and Questions
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Hi Im 43 year male 6ft tall and weigh 23 stone. I would love to be able to go swimming or to the gym and lose weight but Im just too embarrassed to do so. This is mainly to do with self confidence in the way I look (with kit off). Even when wearing clothes I keep pulling at them to keep them away from my body to hide it.I have 2 sons have not been able to go swimming with them. Are there any swimming/gym classes (not dieting)in Gillingham , Kent where they have just groups of larger people to attend for a couple of hours a day/week. People make comments about my size/weight it really does hurt inside but I try to laugh it off. Kind of a catch 22 situation im in.
I am a 19 year old asthmatic and currently weigh around 20st. I went on a diet for 6 months with regular, small meals and daily exercise, either walking or the gym and only managed to loose 6lbs. I need some advice on what my next step should be as I my asthma is getting progressivly worse and my confidence is plumiting.
I was slightly obese at 10st 7 , im 5ft 2 inches. I have managed to loose 17lbs myself by changing eating habits/lifestyle and exercising more. But my stomach still looks 7months pregnant and the rest of me is a good size eg arms legs. Which makes me look even more pregnant which i am not. Its really depressing me now . I have looked pregnant for years. Is this a medical condition or do i need a tummy tuck as partner thinks my ab muscles are spaced too far apart after 2 kids and 4 pregnancies . By the time i was 23. Plus baby weight. . I am 26 now . Just want this belly gone so can get on with life . ADVICE PLEASE
i am 20stone i get no help ,no dietician as i was sent away because i was not diabetic i have been over weight all my life i am a single mum two kids i need to be able to look after them . my oldest son who is also overweight 13 years old 12 stone i am so worried. where we live there is no funding and lack of dieticians to help us not sure what to do .went to weightwatchers but finding it too expensive .they will not help me with a band or bypass because lack of funding i am not a dieabetic .i have bad chest pains pains breathless tired i do try to keep fit i go to swimming and two exercise class and walk the dog twice a day i do try
is phentermine safe as you can get it at private clinics in the uk but not on the nhs
Am i too old for a gastric bypass at 59 yrs
hi im 22 and got myself weighed a few weeks ago and it turns out im 19 stone! ive never been this heavy and ive tried everything to lose the weight but i cant seem to do it, i suffer from derpession which isnt helping the situation :( i really ned some help here as it is making me feel really low, im suppose to be getting married in 2 years but ive told my partner im not getting married till ive lost this weight....someone please, please help me!!!
Hi Leanne, I was in a really similar situation to you 3 years ago- I weighed 15stone and was really depressed. I realised I was depressed because I was overweight and so saw dieting not just as a cure to the physical consequences of obesity but also the mental ones, which I think when your young like us is actually the most immediate-feeling unattractive/having skinny friends/getting less male attention etc So in a way you might find that the depression is the consequence of being overweight, rather than the cause. So when you reach for the choccie/pizza when you feel low, think about how you will feel afterwards/the next day, not just in the moment- answer: more depressed. You say you do everything you can- do you really? I was always denying there was a problem/making excuses/saying i would start tommorow/blamed it on genetics/metabolism etc. One day I went shopping with my friends which is one of my favourite things to do- I realised I could no longer fit in a size 16 which meant I couldnt shop in my favourite shops. This was a huge wake up call and no amount of pizza was going to sort it. If you really want to lose weight you will and I think if one can face up to the real problem and look at it methodically rather than emotionally it is much easier. For most people being overweight is simply a result of putting too much fat/high sugar/carbs in our mouths. So if instead of building a diet up to be some huge emotional quest to lose weight and see it more like simple maths- it seems less daunting. Work out exactly what you eat- write a diary of your normal diet for a week, sit down with it and work it out exactly how much you are consuming and I think you will be suprised. This makes it easier because then all you need to think is that you need to just eat less-think about what you don't need and start by cutting out the really obvious stuff like that chocolate bar mid afternoon/pudding/extra portion of dinner or creamy coffee etc when you go out with friends. Making these small gradual changes over an extended period of time in stages will make it easier- give yourself a week for example with each new stage- at first it will be hard and you will miss the treat but once you see results it will seem like a no-brainer. Once you feel that 'the stage' is easy and managable you can cut out some more things-- thinking about the kind of meat you are eating (fish and chicken over red is my rule) and what kind of carb (brown=good, white=bad)..but all that can come in time as you are ready. Esssentially, it really is all about how you conceptualise this weight loss mentally and not what diet you are one (fad diet plans are in my opinion kindve dumb-restrict your life/this shouldnt be a diet but a new way of living and therefore you need something which is sustainable forever- you cant just eat raw food forever unless you are in LA- you would be a recluse and probably more depressed!. This new cause/consequence thing really helped me- I lost 4 and a half stone in 3 years, i went from a size 18 to an 8 and no longer see it as a diet. One last tip, even at the start of my new outlook (and still now!)I give myself one meal a week where I eat what I like, whether that is a lovely dinner out to a nice restaurant with a desert or a pizza takeaway and ice cream on the sofa- if you enjoy food (like we do! lol) there is no point depriving yourself forever- there is nothing wrong with enjoying calorific/high fat food, you just shouldn't eat it all the time!
Hi I am 42 and pushing 14 stone and can't seem to loose an ounce, I work 6 days a week, go on bike rides when I can and try and eat as healthy as possible, I have recently stopped smoking and generally a busy person, I had an histerectomy at 29 and have a really painfull back too, whats going on, I have had the thyroid tests etc and all is ok
im a 58 year old woman i weigh 19 stone 6 im finding hard to breath after i walk 100 yards and im getting sharp pains in my knees please help
I am 18 years old, 5ft 8, and am 13 stone! I find it really hard to loose weight, when I try it doesn't seem to make any difference but also because I am still at school it is hard to eat healthy without hassle. I go to the gym once a week and row once a week so I am exercising. I have hereditary high cholesterol and although we have been told that diet does not affect it after tests were carried out I think this may be a contributor. It runs in my dads side of the family and all of my relatives who have this problem are overweight. I would like to know what I can do to loose weight. Should I be controlling my calorie intake or my fat intake?
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