Happy New Year for 2023, TVO readers!

Are you someone who makes New Year’s resolutions but doesn’t follow through on them, and thinks about them ruefully again only in another 12 months’ time? If so, you are not alone! One of the commonest resolutions to make (and to break) revolves around trying to lose excess weight. But why is losing weight so hard and why do so many of us struggle with it? And if you are able to lose weight, why is it so hard to maintain the weight loss? Let’s first look at some facts.

WORDS: DR CARL WONG

Excess weight, overweight, obesity - these are just words that relate to similar things. Medically-speaking, these terms are determined objectively by use of the Body Mass Index (BMI) calculation. A BMI of 25-29 is classified as overweight; a BMI of greater than 30 is obese; if above 35, then severely obese. A separate calculation is used for children/adolescents to account for their growth. However, measuring your waist circumference is a better predictor of total body fat and one’s risk of developing other conditions especially diabetes and heart disease. Above 80cm in women and 94cm in men is associated with increased risks (links are at the bottom of this article to help you measure both, and other helpful links too). So why is all this important?

According to the latest data, 2 in 3 adults, and 1 in 4 children are overweight. Men have higher rates of obesity compared to women. Obesity is more common as we get older. Being overweight or obese is the leading factor that determines how more seriously certain diseases and conditions will impact an affected person’s daily life (‘disease burden’). It increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, asthma, back problems, early osteoarthritis, kidney disease, dementia, and some cancers. As a whole, obesity causes death rates to increase by 50%. ‘Obesity affects almost all aspects of health’ agrees Dr Lucy Ding, a local endocrinologist and obesity specialist, ‘for example, if within the first six years of diagnosis, (Type 2) diabetes can be reversed in a majority of overweight/ obese people with radical weight loss alone.’

But back to my earlier question. There are many reasons as a population as to why we are losing the ‘battle of the bulge’. Firstly its genetic. Starting from our hunter-gatherer days, humans have a genetic predisposition to gain excess fat under certain situations (‘feast and famine’ cycle theory), making weight gain the preference and weight loss being signalled as a bad outcome. Also, it can be argued that obesity is the consequence of modern industrialised societies; cities reliant on automobiles (versus walking or bicycling), the boom of fast-food outlets that provide quick, cheap energy-dense foods, and sedentary lifestyles from our occupations, all play a role. One of the many fall-outs of the COVID pandemic, is that working-from-home has a consequence of less incidental exercise due to decreased public transport commutes to and from work.

There is no ‘magic bullet’ to losing excess weight, as much as we’d love there to be one. The fact that the whole world is becoming more obese is testimony to that. Here are some simply things for you to think about and that may help:

1. Physical activity (how frequent/how intense/how long) must be more than your food intake (what/how much/how often you eat). It is not simply just this but it’s a start.

2. Reflect and think about your excess weight gain journey. Examples include: (1) a stepped weight gain may have been due to life events that affected your diet/ physical activity levels; (2) yo-yo dieting/ weight loss may indicate that fad diets are non-sustainable for you, and (3) gradual weight gains may reflect a slackening of your diet/exercising over your lifetime.

3. Exercise alone (ie without also dietary/lifestyle modifications) unfortunately usually does not lead to weight loss. But there are there are other health benefits for physical exercise, particularly towards heart health, so exercise is still good!

4. Don’t aim for huge targets that are hard to achieve and a discouragement when not met. Aim for a reduction in waist circumference (your waist clothes feeling looser), and 5-10% kilogram weight reduction over 3-6 month periods

5. Short term changes lead to only short term weight loss. Most people reach a weight loss plateau after six months. If you do not reflect and maintain the effort and discipline that got you there, the weight will pile back on.

6. Quality over quantity Eg fruit, vegetables, reduced fat

Local Radio dairy products, wholegrains, lean protein foods. By eating these, you will be able to eat more of these and fill your appetite quicker. ‘Aim for low energy food diets, eat smaller portions and chew slowly says Dr Ding, ‘also aim for an 8–12hour window period for daily eating interval’

7. Hunger and appetite are different. Hunger is a survival drive to eat. Appetite is affected many factors like stress, lack of sleep, time of day, habits and social occasions. It is more psychologically driven and easier to control.

8. When exercising, the activity you do should be hard, ie increased breathing and heart rate. Leisurely walks won’t cut it. Intense exercise programs should only be undertaken after you have had a heart risk assessment

We started as a small community radio station operating on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and today we broadcast 24/7, mostly live. Our station premises are situated and have been for the last 35 years at the historic, if not also haunted, Henley Cottage in Gladesville.

2RRR cover many genres with an emphasis on classic rock, country, and jazz dominating an orderly program schedule. Additionally, our programming extends to 20th century nostalgia, informative lifestyle-wellbeing, local sport and multilingual programs.

Remember that losing weight is hard to achieve and maintain! There is no one-size-fits-all treatment plan. Some people may succeed just with self-motivation and adhering to dietary and lifestyle modifications. Others will require further professional medical help and other allied health providers (dieticians, exercise physiologists, psychologists). These details are beyond the scope of this article length – please talk to your local GP if you are struggling with your weight about what else can be done.

• https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/bmi-calculator

Gaining popularity is our youth drive-time hour Mondays to Thursdays featuring local high school students providing an insight into current musical trends such as hip-hop and electronica.

• https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/your-heart/knowyour-risks/healthy-weight/waist-measurement

• https://www.healthyliving.nsw.gov.au

• https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au

We do pride ourselves on staying in touch with community groups and organisations to relay news and events as well community outreach such as presently with The Northern Centre (domestic violence & refugees) and StreetWork (kids at risk) working within our LGAs.

Imagine what you could do if you had less knee pain?

ARE YOU FINDING IT HARD TO:

• Walk without pain?

• Bend your knee?

• Go up or down steps?

• Get up out of a chair?

If you’d like to know more about living with much less knee pain, then this FREE special report is perfect for you. It details solutions to help avoid surgery, maintain independence and get back to moving pain free.

FOR EXAMPLE:

• How to ease your throbbing knee pain

• Discover the little-known way to exercise - without increased knee pain.

• A simple remedy for easing knee pain that will cost you nothing - perfect to stay active and mobile

• The one thing that you can change today to dramatically improve your knee pain

For details on ways to listen, membership, program guide, volunteering, and more, please go to: 2rrr.org.au.

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