How to help a loved one lose weight?
Obesity is a pathology recognized as disablingor even disabling. Some overweight people are rejected, others are judged and criticized. Certainly junk food, desire and lack of sports activities are involved in these overweight individuals. But in other circumstances, it is more the environmental, genetic and educational environment that is undermined.
In the case of obesity acquired throughout the years, a fundamental questioningin terms of diet and lifestylecan make it possible to switch to a complete and total management of this disease. This is why these obese, those who indulge in their compulsions, are often excluded by society. The latter would like “the big guys” to take up this evil of which they are victims. Thus, overweight people will seek comfort and support from their family or circle of friends. Still, it’s not the most recommended alternative.
What to avoid better
Recently, the American journalPersonal Relationships(1) published a study conducted by the University of Waterloo in Canada. It highlights thecounterproductive effectof the pressure of relatives on the overweight of those who are already in a state of anxiety compared to their extra pounds. As for relatives, they are even more concerned by the suffering of their spouses, children and friends in a state of overweight. Reflections fuse: “Get moving”! “Don’t eat that!” “You should do this or that!” According to this Canadian study, these kinds of remarks serve absolutely no purpose. It is even theopposite: they amplify the guilt of the overweight person, increase their anxieties and, again, make them throw themselves on food, fatty, sweet and too salty products …
We already know the false good advice including magazines, shows and television reports, advice from dietetic specialists … We know that repeated diets, which last a few months and which systematically return every summer season, are detrimental to a reasonable and sustainable loss of pounds. So where is the happy medium?
What common sense recommends
Obese people who turn not to their families and friends but to specialists are more likely to feel helpedthan others. The scientists who conducted the experiment were able to demonstrate, through 187 participants bathed in their family and friendly context, that on average, those who had confided in their loved ones, gained 2 kilos. More or less, all participants who underwent a moralizing dialogue tended to gain weight during the time of the experiment, nine months.
Rather than stigmatizing our overweight loved ones, wouldn’t the solution be to show understanding or even acceptance to avoid guilt and systematic refuge in food?
Thanks to this study, we now know that it is women who are most affected by the feeling of considering themselves as “less than nothing”, “null”. Moreover, the figures speak for themselves since according to the Canadian study, the participants, whose support was an optimistic and positive dialogue, saw their weight drop by half a kilogram.
So, to turn to one’s own and hear their reproaches is to close oneself in systematic guilt? Psychology professor Christine LOGEL (who carried out the scientific study) is however not of this opinion and says that it is only a question of acceptance or rejection by his relatives. It is the use of “right words” that guides the state of mind of the overweight person and therefore his actions.
In order to know if you are overweight or obese, you can calculate your Body Mass Index.
Stephen Paul is the lead author and founder of My Health Sponsor. Holder of a diploma in health and well-being coaching with more than 200 articles in the field of health, he makes it a point of honor to offer advice based on reliable information, based on scientific research, and verified by health professionals.