Obesity: new techniques and strategies to defeat it

Otoday there are new techniques and strategies to tackle obesity. A woman who has struggled with her weight all her life tells it here. And a doctor who teaches his patients how to get out of the diet trap

“And slowly I lost my pounds,” says Patrizia G. from Bologna. It may also be the Emilian accent, but the use of that diminutive strikes me because it reveals indulgence and tenderness towards itself. If we translate those “pounds” into numbers, you realize what it means to have to do with a weight that assigns you to the category obesity. «At 21 I weighed 120 kilos for one meter and 77 cm in height, but it all started a long time ago, when I was 10. My mom noticed that something was wrong and I met my first dietician. Since then I have tried all my life to be careful, with a great effort of will that periodically gave results: I managed to lose 40 kilos after following a diet and I associate that moment with a new pair of boots that I immediately went to buy: the zipper went up, flowed beautifully, reached the bottom and closed! ».

Small big satisfactions for those who will return several times to the same starting point, starting all over again. In the middle, the disappearance of menstruation due to weight loss, weight gain during pregnancy, up to a gastric band (today this type of surgery that affects the stomach to pass less food is almost no longer used) done with the hope to put an end to the problem. Patrizia is now 66 years old and is still battling weight gain. This time successfully, because in the meantime the way of dealing with this disease has changed. And who today decides to go to a doctor can really hope to arrive at a result without seeing your whole life pass by.

Little help, a lot of awareness

“Obesity is a disease, but many people think that only those who have a disproportionate weight are affected and others hide the problem by saying:” I’m fine, I have a satisfying life, why should I get treated? “” Explains Dr. Maria Letizia Petroni, from the Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism Service at the Sant’Orsola Polyclinic Bologna.

Many are also convinced that they can do it with a diet and physical exercise. Lifestyle is important, but the now recognized limit of a diet, often do-it-yourself and randomly chosen, is that it doesn’t work in the absence of afood education: “We need to learn to recognize the signs of hunger and satiety or understand together with the doctor if it is nervous hunger” explains Maria Letizia Petroni. «A diet is like a dress: it must be taken to the right size, it must not make me lose weight too quickly or force the body to lose weight if at a certain point the weight stops. It is necessary to proceed step by step, losing 15 percent of the weight and then maintaining it at least one and a half times the weight loss period. The truth is that it is not said that we should always resort to a calorie restriction ».

Today centers with this approach have been born and in the box below find out how to find the one closest to you. In one of these works Dr. Petroni. “We subject patients to group or self-help sessions. Laura, 49, led by a dietician but without a proper diet, dropped from 98 to 81 kilos within a year. Then he managed the maintenance independently, applying strategies such as the traffic light: green, everything is going well; yellow (one kilo more), physical activity and a self-monitoring diary are required; red: better go back to the doctor ».

Empowerment works here too

Diets are tyrants, they often bind you to them forever. It is quite different to understand how to deal with food in everyday life and to catch the signs if something is wrong. “Today the cognitive-behavioral techniques that teach you to manage stress, to be flexible (is there no bresaola included in the diet? No problem, you are looking for a healthy alternative), to relate at home with family members, are of great help” Dr. Petroni. The target? Feeling safer and more comfortable when sitting at the table. Less worried about food while knowing that every week we will have to weigh ourselves. Forever.

A site that helps you fight obesity

Obesity is a complex disease, which can depend on genetic, environmental, psychological factors and can have serious consequences on health. According to the international study Action-Io in Italy only 8 percent of people with obesity turn to a doctor and when they decide to do so it takes an average of 6 years before contacting him (in our country overweight and obesity concern 25 million Italians, data Istat).

This is why laveritasulpeso.it was born, a meeting point to dispel some clichés (“To lose weight just eat little and exercise”, “If I don’t lose weight it’s only my fault”), give suggestions and make available a link to geolocation system of IO-Net, the Italian Obesity Network, to identify the closest specialist centers to contact and to undertake a path of treatment, from food education to drug therapies.

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