Treating obesity

TREATING OBESITY  

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Diet advice

A healthy diet should contain:

• meals based on starchy, high-fibre carbohydrates, such as wholegrain bread, pasta and rice
• at least five portions of fruit and vegetables every day
• a moderate amount of low-fat protein, milk and dairy products
• a very small amount of foods that are high in fat, sugar or salt

In order to lose weight, you need to eat a healthy diet and reduce the amount of calories in your diet. This will mean changing your eating habits. You need to do this a way that you find acceptable, and that you can maintain long-term (see tips for weight loss, in the box to the right).

Types of diet

Your GP may recommend a calorie-controlled diet. This will be based on how much you are currently eating, and then attempting to cut the amount of calories you eat every day by around 600. Alternatively, you may be advised to follow a low-fat diet. See diet for tips to cut down the amount of fat and sugar in your diet.

A calorie-controlled or low-fat diet should only be attempted with expert support and advice. You should also have a follow-up appointment with your GP to check your progress.

If you attempt a low-calorie diet (only 1,000-1,600 calories a day) without the advice of a health professional, you may miss out some of the vital nutrients you need to stay healthy.

Further information

There is much more information on losing weight in the Live Wellsection of the website. This section contains information on:

• swapping your snacks for healthier versions,
• understanding food labels so you can make healthier choices when food shopping,
• the truth about fad diets, and
• how to stay motivated when trying to lose weight.

Children and diet

Children and diet

Children and diet

As children are still growing, they may need to follow a special kind of diet to make sure that they are still getting all the nutrients they need to develop healthily. If your child is overweight or obese, consult your GP before making any significant changes to their diet.

Increase your exercise

Research suggests that increasing the amount of exercise you do is an effective way to lose weight, and the results are even better when combined with changes to your diet.

The advice from your GP about exercise will vary depending on how fit you are to start with, and what it is safe for you to do. You should start by decreasing the amount of time you are physically inactive, such as how long you spend watching television or sitting at a computer.

You should then build up slowly to 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise on at least five days of the week. Moderate intensity means that you are breathing slightly more than normal, but you can still comfortably talk as you exercise.

Your 30 minutes of exercise does not need to be completed in a single session. If you prefer, it can be split into three 10 minute sessions. When you are able to, you should consider extending the amount of exercise to 45 minutes, and then keep increasing this as your fitness level improves. 

Types of exercise

The most effective types of exercise are ‘aerobic’ activities. Aerobic activities are any kind of rhythmic, moderate intensity exercises that use the large muscles in your legs and buttocks. The exercise should raise your heart rate and make you breathe harder. 

Recommended types of physical exercise include:

• activities that can be incorporate into everyday life, such as brisk walking, gardening, or cycling,
• supervised exercise programmes, and
• activities such as swimming, walking (where you aim to walk a certain number of steps a day), and stair climbing.

Children and exercise

Children and exercise

Children and exercise 

Children should be encouraged to do at least 60 minutes of moderate activity each day. The activity can be in one session, or several sessions that last 10 minutes, or more. As with adults, children who are overweight, or obese, may need to do more than 60 minutes of exercise. You should check with your GP before your child starts a new exercise programme.

Medication

Medication for obesity may be available from your GP in some cases. You need to show you can lose weight on a calorie controlled diet before it is considered. Medication is normally one part of a weight loss programme, and requires a long-term change in lifestyle for lasting results.

The only medication currently prescribed is orlistat. See the box to the left for information on sibutramine, which is no longer used due to safety concerns.

Orlistat

Ortlisat works by blocking the action of an enzyme (a protein that speeds-up and controls chemical reactions in the body) that is used to digest fat. The undigested fat is not absorbed into your body, and is passed out with your faeces (stools). As you are absorbing less fat, you should lose weight.

One orlistat capsule is taken with each main meal (a maximum of three capsules a day). You can take the capsule either before, during, or up to one hour after each meal.

If you miss a meal, or the meal does not contain any fat, you may not need to take the orlistat capsule. Your GP should explain this to you, or you can check the patient information leaflet that comes with your medication.

You have to have made significant effort to lose weight through diet, exercise or changing your lifestyle before taking orlistat. Even then, orlistat is only prescribed if you are on a low calorie diet and you have:

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