While it is a known fact that obesity can cause death, a recent global study has found that ignoring weight gain can increase the risk of premature death and that of the 4 million deaths attributed to being overweight in 2015, nearly 40% were not considered clinically obese.
The study also found that more than 2 billion children and adults suffered from health problems linked to being overweight. These include type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.
The paper, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed there was an increasing percentage of overweight people had a body mass index (BMI) of less than 30, the threshold for obesity. The researchers said their findings highlighted ‘a growing and disturbing global public health crisis’.
“People who shrug off weight gain do so at their own risk – risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and other life-threatening conditions,” said Dr Christopher Murray, author of the study and director of the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.
Many people try, and quite often fail, to lose weight or control their weight through diets but weight management through clinical hypnotherapy has proven to be successful for those who want to lose weight and use hypnotherapy.
The National Council for Hypnotherapy, the UK’s leading not-for-profit professional association for hypnotherapy with almost 2,000 therapists on its register, says: “Managing weight loss is one of the most effective results of hypnotherapy.
“Rather than just reducing calories that you are likely to put on again in the longer term, hypnosis gets you in touch with the reasons why you unconsciously eat.”
The global study, which looked at 195 countries and territories over a period of 35 years, from 1980 to 2015, revealed that 30% of the world’s population – 2.2 billion children and adults – are affected by excess weight. This includes nearly 108 million children and more than 600 million adults who are categorised as a having a BMI of higher than 30 and therefore medically defined as obese.
It showed that obesity has been increasing around the globe since 1980, doubling in more than 70 countries.
And another recent study shows that children who have TVs in their bedrooms are more likely to be overweight than those who do not. The study by University College London scientists said the longer spent watching TV, the more likely children were to put on weight.
Researchers say there is now an urgent need to see if similar patterns exist with laptops and mobile phones. Experts said high levels of screen time exposed children to a damaging combination of risks to health.
Girls who had TVs in their bedrooms at the age of seven were 30% more likely to be overweight when they were 11, compared to children who did not have TVs in their bedrooms. For boys, the risk was increased by about 20%.
The NCH says: “As well as stopping compulsive eating, hypnosis can increase your motivation for exercise. It can also help you reduce portion sizes so you lose weight healthily, steadily and for the long term. Losing weight with hypnosis is essentially about teaching you to feel good about yourself, whatever size you are. It focuses on making healthy changes to your diet and lifestyle that will remain with you for the rest of your life.”
If you do not want to become an unnecessary statistic, contact an NCH therapist near you by using the NCH directory. It could be a life-changing decision.