Natural Health Help

I have been scanning some major news services to see what people have been saying about our inevitable New Year’s Resolutions about weight loss. I was dismayed to see how much of the news has a negative spin. There are a number of experts showing up, seeming to say the news is bad. There are a number of reports saying that epidemic obesity is due not to the simple and the obvious (we eat too much, we don’t exercise enough) but rather to factors deep, mysterious and out of our control, like brain hormones and genetic programming or prenatal nutrition (And hey, nothing will drive a woman to chocolate like the idea she permanently ruined her children’s health while they were in-utero, by the way she ate!) The news just is NOT that bad!

These experts are not malicious, and their information is good to have. I think what we are seeing is real and valuable research attention to a significant health concern, colored by the news media’s need to sensationalize information for attention. If we actually read what the experts are able to say in their 15 seconds in the spotlight we can understand they are trying to squeeze very complex ideas into a media sound bite. The headlines cannot do the actual message justice. The epidemic of obesity, with 66% of Americans significantly overweight, is a dreadful problem, and we need all the investigation into causes and solutions that can be mustered. Making sense of the information research uncovers deserves careful effort.

I went to the National Weight Loss Registry for the real news about real people engaged in life long weight loss and healthy weight maintenance. The National Weight Control Registry (NWCR), established in 1994, is the largest prospective investigation of long-term successful weight loss maintenance. Responding to the persistence of the belief that few people ever succeed at long-term weight loss, the NWCR was developed to identify and investigate the characteristics of individuals who have succeeded at long-term weight loss. The NWCR is tracking over 5,000 individuals who have lost significant amounts of weight and kept it off for long periods of time. Detailed questionnaires and annual follow-up surveys are used to examine the behavioral and psychological characteristics of weight maintainers, as well as the strategies they use to maintaining their weight losses. Here is what they know for sure:

* 80% of persons in the registry are women and 20% are men.

* The “average” woman is 45 years of age and currently weights 145 lbs, while the “average” man is 49 years of age and currently weights 190 lbs.

* Registry members have lost an average of 66 lbs and kept it off for 5.5 years.

* These averages, however, hide a lot of diversity:

o Weight losses have ranged from 30 to 300 lbs.
o Duration of successful weight loss has ranged from 1 year to 66 years!
o Some have lost the weight rapidly, while others have lost weight very slowly–over as many as 14 years.

* They have also started to learn about how the weight loss was accomplished: 45% of registry participants lost the weight on their own and the other 55% lost weight with the help of some type of program.

* 98% of Registry participants report that they modified their food intake in some way to lose weight.

* 94% increased their physical activity, with the most frequently reported form of activity being walking.

* There is variety in how NWCR members keep the weight off. Most report continuing to maintain a low calorie, low fat diet and doing high levels of activity.

o 78% eat breakfast every day.
o 75% weigh them self at least once a week.
o 62% watch less than 10 hours of TV per week.
o 90% exercise, on average, about 1 hour per day.

We find ourselves living in a time when much of what seems basic and essential to everyday life, is clearly harmful. Our health, our environment, our relationships with each other and with ourselves are challenged at every turn. There is good news however, a lot of it actually and it is vital to share it with each other. I have personal and professional experience with long term success at making changes that restore health and well being. Looking forward to sharing the stories with you.

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