Obesity

The number of people who are obese is rising rapidly throughout the world, making obesity one of the fastest developing public health problems. The World Health Organisation has described the problem of obesity as a "worldwide epidemic". It is estimated that around 1 billion people worldwide are overweight, of which 300 million are clinically obese (WHO, 2003).

The USA has a particularly high prevalence of obesity. On average, over one third of the adult population are obese, rising to more than 50% in some ethnic subgroups. Although the UK lags behind the USA, the rate of change is very similar to the USA and this offers a frightening insight into the potential scale of the problem unless adequate strategies are adopted now to both prevent and treat obesity. In England, the prevalence of obesity has increased steadily during the last 50 years and since the 1980's the proportion of obese people has trebled. Obesity is the most prevalent nutritional disorder in industrialised countries, and is strongly associated with a number of health problems including type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease. However, many of the mechanisms by which increased obesity promotes these diseases remain poorly understood.Obesity causes about 18 million sick days and 30,000 deaths a year in England alone (source: National Audit Office).

Obesity is defined by an excess of adipose (fat) tissue. Fat tissue has a wide spectrum of metabolic and secretory functions and releases a large number of signals. These in turn are essential for a number of physiological activities, as well as being risk factors in a number of metabolic disorders. It is now recognised that we live in an environment that makes it all too easy to become overweight. There is an abundance of food available and it is very easy to be almost totally inactive. With these changes, which have occurred over the past few decades, many people now struggle to manage their weight.

The Tri Health day care therapy managment for obesity is not only about healthy eating. It is a form of holistic treatment which incorporates diet, psychological help, together with natural healing techniques, in order to help the body repair and restore itself naturally. The treatment is 'holistic', which means it treats the whole person not just the illness or ailment.

For more information and to book an assessment please contact the day care coordinator on 0121 411 4034