Bikinis and bulges

There's a survey attached to an article in todays Age online.

http://www.theage.com.au/lifestyle/beauty/blogs/beauty-beat/comfortably-tummied/20100928-15um7.html#poll  Should overweight people wear bikinis or keep their fleshy bits covered up?  

There are two sides to this "coin", I think.

Firstly, fat acceptance is important.  People are discriminated against due to their weight and the more people allow themselves to make their own clothing choices based on their preference and not society's, the better.

On the other hand, people are discriminated against due to their weight and when an overweight person feels extremely self conscious they may want to soothe those feelings with food - causing more of a problem weight-wise.  So it may be better to wear something flattering and concealing, than let it all hang out. 

Here's one posted comment "Fat is not something you should inflict on others"

and another "People should wear whatever they feel comfortable in and never be concerned about the rampant wankery of those obsessed with "style" and "trends"."

What do you think?  (By the way, the survey was 66% against bikinis on overweight people, 34% for)

They must have read my mind!

An article in The Age Saturday 25/9 is entitled "Bulging US takes heavyweight title" (read it here http://www.theage.com.au/world/bulging-us-takes-heavyweight-title-20100924-15qkg.html ).  Britain and Australia as well as the US have the fastest obesity growth rates in the world.  It details the side effects of obesity such as the risk of heart disease, diabetes, several types of cancer and other diseases. Not to mention lowered mood and a downward spiral of guilt and misery.

As they say (and I've always believed) "Obesity must be tackled by a multi-pronged approach" such as lifestyle counselling, health-promotion campaigns and compulsory food labelling.  And it recognises that we can't wait for big business to self-regulate the ingredients in their high fat/sugar/salt foods.  Government intervention is needed.

In essence, Eat THINK and Be Merry is customised lifestyle counselling and a personal health promotion campaign.  Whilst I'm not involved in food labelling, I'm heavily in favour of the de-labelling of obese people as stupid and lacking self-control!  Humans soothe themselves in a variety of ways (smoking, drinking, spending, eating):  eating is just a more obvious solution and not a character flaw or personality defect.  Change that attitude and you've won half the obesity battle.  The other half - how about driving straight past Macca's and going  home, making your own burgers and sitting down to eat with the family.

I'm off for a walk around the Botanical Gardens with my health coach - au revoir!

The Diabetes Tsunami?

What an interesting concept - that Type II Diabetes is washing over Australia like a tidal wave.  Perhaps it is.  Another interesting article in the good old Age today.  And some good comments below about what happens when you threaten people will massive ill health - the stress makes them eat more!

So what is the way forward? Education and helpful strategies.  Not just threats and dire warnings. Doctors take heed, Government departments sit up and pay attention.

http://www.theage.com.au/lifestyle/wellbeing/blogs/chew-on-this/the-diabetes-tsunami--why-arent-we-panicking/20100913-157sp.html

Controversy!

I've just seen a controversial new television ad from the USA.  It is taking a swipe at McDonalds and I would imagine the lawyers are already warming up their litigation machines.  Perhaps that is the point of it - publicity through lawsuits.

But the point is that there is truth in what is said.  The typical Western diet contains excess fat, sugar and salt.  McDonald's food contains excess fat, sugar and salt.  However, so does KFC, Burger King, Hungry Jacks and most cafe food as well.  

The message is clear.  You can modify your health by modifying what you eat.  Tell me what you think.
http://www.theage.com.au/lifestyle/wellbeing/mcdonalds-outrage-at-health-ad-20100915-15biv.html?autostart=1

Change

I'm still here in Singapore and, whilst in regular contact with friends via Facebook and email, I am without a mobile phone.  It feels a little odd and this made me think about change in general, and change related to health and weight loss in particular.

Change is something we as humans are programmed to avoid.  We seek stasis, equilibrium.  Change may involve risk, and risk-avoidance is a survival tactic.  So change feels uncomfortable, and we seek to avoid that discomfort, too.

This applies to both positive and negative change.  For example, on the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale divorce rates 73 units and marriage rates 50 units.  Now one of those is a very positive, happy event and one sad and traumatic (you choose which is which!).

Especially in relation to weight and health, change is essential.  One has to modify food intake and seek non-food ways to soothe and deal with emotions.  So how do people cope? And effect change despite it feeling uncomfortable?

Firstly, by expecting discomfort.  That "high" we get when starting a new diet fades quickly especially when an emotion rears its ugly head (tired, stressed, angry, bored etc.).  If you are prepared for and expecting to feel uncomfortable then you've jumped a major hurdle.  Remember, change may be uncomfortable, but it will not be unbearable.  And the discomfort reduces over a relatively short period of time. People often don't know this because they've never tried.

And secondly, keeping focus on the long-term is crucial.  The momentary discomfort of not having that Tim Tam (or packet thereof!) will be seriously outweighed by the long-term health benefits.  Sure, you can be grumpy about not having the Tim Tams (you're not expected to smile and be cheerful).  Just remind yourself that you're experiencing short-term pain for long-term gain.  And to those of you who don't know what a Tim Tam is...use your imagination!

What a contrast!

Melbourne is pretty cold at the moment (by Australian standards anyway) and spring seems a distant possibility. Singapore is, as ever, hot and humid.  The contrast is startling.

As too, is the contrast between the "fat" Singaporeans and the slender ones.  Yesterday I did my obligatory march down Orchard Road to shop (duty calls!) and saw strong evidence of the high body fat percentage in many Singaporeans - male and female.  Whilst the women may still fit into a size 10 pair of jeans, their wobble is evident.  In contrast, there are many other women who have the typical Asian small frame carrying just the right amount of weight.  Nothing skeletal, no protruding bones (a la runway models), just  a whole lot of normal.

What's the difference?  In my in-depth scientific survey (one afternoon's shopping expedition!)  I believe the overweight Singaporeans have embraced the bounty of Western fast food on offer.  After seeing all the cakes, sweetened drinks, ice creams, chocolate on offer, I'm not surprised.  It doesn't seem that the composition of traditional Singaporean foods has changed.  There are just so many "extras" on offer.  If shopping is a national sport, then so too is snacking.  

Perhaps the slender Singaporeans are eschewing the "I'm in a cafe....I'll have a cake" mentality and listening to their bodies more closely.  Sadly, the chubby Singaporeans may already be in the grip of the Western devils (fat and sugar) but there's some good news on the horizon.  The government is aware of the issue and is taking steps to educate and motivate the population.  

I'm off now to have some beautiful tropical fruit with my breakfast. Today is a public holiday in Singapore marking the end of Ramadan.  Eid mubarak!

Singapore, here I come

Departing tomorrow for a well-earned break with no set agenda.  One of the great attractions of Singapore is the shopping (but I'm becoming more of a minimalist, so not too much of that happening).  Another is the food - a cosmopolitan array of Asian cuisines and some hybrids too (like Nonya and Perankan).

I went online to check the obesity statistics for Singapore to see if it is "keeping up" with the rest of the world.  They definitely lag behind a lot of developed countries in the percentage of inhabitants who are overweight or obese.  Good on them.  

However, there was a footnote to these statistics.  Whilst their BMI (Body Mass Index) may be too low for obesity, it appears that quite a few Singaporeans are carrying too much body fat.  Confused?  BMI is useful for people with an average frame and musculature.  People with lots of muscle, for example will have a higher BMI and a table could rate them as overweight/obese, as muscle is heavy.  The opposite is also true.  Asians tend to have smaller, lighter frames than Caucasians and may be packing a load of body fat even if their weight and, therefore, BMI is not so high.

The message:  

BMI is not the "B" all and end all.  Its important to take body composition into consideration, too.

  

 

Stress and Obesity

As if we didn't know already, there's now proof that social stress (e.g. job pressures, relationship issues, dealing with this increasingly fast-paced life that we feel is essential) leads to obesity.  What do we do when we're under pressure - soothe with food!   


"A recent study conducted by the Departments of Psychiatry and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, examined the effects of stress on the meal patterns and food intake of animals exposed to the equivalent of everyday stress on humans. The results suggest that, not only does stress have an impact on us in the short term, it can cause metabolic changes in the longer term that contribute to obesity."*  Once again, a moment on the lips....a lifetime on the hips.  So how can we deal with this?  First, step away from the corn chips/chocolate and sit down!  


But seriously, we need to launch ourselves out of this vicious circle.  I haven't worked out how to draw a circle on this blog so here is a list instead.


A.  We feel stress (for whatever "modern lifestyle" reason).
B.  We soothe that feeling with the readily available, high calorie food in our environment.  
C.  We feel guilty and ashamed about our poor self control** and the extra weight we gain.
D.  So now we have another source of stress. (Have you noticed...Step D is Step A wearing a disguise) 


And what do we do when we feel a stressor?  Repeat Step B, C, D, B, C, D and so on.


The key thing to remember is that food is not the only soother available to us.  At the "micro" level we can choose to 
1.  Do something about the stressor/emotion
2.  Find a distraction
3.  Do nothing and simply sit with the feeling, knowing that it will diminish over time.


At the "macro" level, we can consider what our 24/7 lifestyles are doing to us and question if we're actually on the right path for a rich and fulfilling life?  What do you think?


I'm always sad around Father's Day as mine has been gone for seven of them.  But to all of you who have one who's alive and kicking, I hope you (and he) enjoy tomorrow.  C




*  Quoted from Medical News Today 4/9/10 article 


** It always makes me laugh that an overweight person can believe they have poor self control.  This is someone who probably spent six months on Ultraslim or the Cambridge diet.  Now that takes an ENORMOUS amount of self control!