Jeremy Laurance says “we don’t know what to do about it…acres of
newsprint and hours of broadcasting are devoted to different ways of
dieting, but as soon as the weight is lost, most people put it back on.”
And not only put it back, but often gain more than they had lost. That’s
because dieting simply doesn’t work, unless one has iron self-discipline.
If on the other hand, you eat when you are really hungry - whatever you
want to eat - and STOP WHEN YOU HAVE HAD ENOUGH, the body regulates itself
& tends to settle at a more normal weight. I discovered thirty years
ago that when I stopped trying to diet, I actually lost weight. Being
freed from the self-defeating cycle of starving then stuffing is very
liberating and what’s more it works!
I’m not denying for one minute that we need to eat plenty of fruit
and vegetables and take more exercise; but combined with the above
approach, the resulting diet is much more likely to be sensible and
moderate. The constant exhortations of the government, media (and medical
profession) to eat ‘healthy food’ and attain an ideal weight are I believe
counter-productive.
At the same time, the lower limit of obesity has changed from a BMI
of 35 to 30. This means that those slightly outside the ideal weight range
are driven to dieting for questionable gain, while those who are ‘obese’
simply give up and gain more and more weight.
Rapid Response:
Obesity
Jeremy Laurance says “we don’t know what to do about it…acres of
newsprint and hours of broadcasting are devoted to different ways of
dieting, but as soon as the weight is lost, most people put it back on.”
And not only put it back, but often gain more than they had lost. That’s
because dieting simply doesn’t work, unless one has iron self-discipline.
If on the other hand, you eat when you are really hungry - whatever you
want to eat - and STOP WHEN YOU HAVE HAD ENOUGH, the body regulates itself
& tends to settle at a more normal weight. I discovered thirty years
ago that when I stopped trying to diet, I actually lost weight. Being
freed from the self-defeating cycle of starving then stuffing is very
liberating and what’s more it works!
I’m not denying for one minute that we need to eat plenty of fruit
and vegetables and take more exercise; but combined with the above
approach, the resulting diet is much more likely to be sensible and
moderate. The constant exhortations of the government, media (and medical
profession) to eat ‘healthy food’ and attain an ideal weight are I believe
counter-productive.
At the same time, the lower limit of obesity has changed from a BMI
of 35 to 30. This means that those slightly outside the ideal weight range
are driven to dieting for questionable gain, while those who are ‘obese’
simply give up and gain more and more weight.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests