I have no willpower and a disastrous relationship with food. It is my escape and I have been gaining weight for years. I am currently overweight when I have always been good, until 48 years. Now I have 56. I don’t know where to start
Ali
– Eldiario.es reader
Many people face this dilemma. They know that poor diet or excess weight can be a risk to their health, but they do not feel able to regulate their way of eating. Many others are trapped in a vicious circle of diets and suffering.
If malnutrition has affected a large part of humanity, now, overweight and obesity have become global health problems. According to WHOin 2022, one in eight people in the world had obesity, almost double that in 1990, when they were one in four. The situation is even worse among children, a problem that is also growing both in the richest and poorest countries.
A common narrative in society is that people who suffer from overweight and obesity have no willpower to control their food intake, but this is not how medical science is facing the problem. In a recent one article Posted by scientists from the University of Oxford with the title The ‘willpower’ is not enough: it is time for a new approach to public health policy to prevent obesity, The authors highlight that public policies that encourage people to take care of their health must be accompanied by an environment that does not encourage excessive consumption of unhealthy food.
“The willpower as such does not exist,” says psychologist Carmen Blanco. “We cannot do a blood test to know what your willpower levels are. For example, it is very regulated by the context. If you are quitting smoking or drinking, you can’t leave terraces and that people throw the smoke on your face, or have access to cigarettes in your home, ”he explains.
The loss of appetite control is related to well -known physiological factors. For example, the caeline hormone, produced in the stomach, is segregated before meals to generate hunger, while other hormones, such as leptin (released by fatty tissue) and insulin (produced by the pancreas), send signals from signs of satiety to the brain.
“However, hormonal causes are the least frequent of all,” says Dr. Joaquín Puerma, an endocrinologist specialized in obesity. “When a patient with excess weight enters by consultation, we first have to rule out that he has some organic disease, which are the most serious. But, in my experience, much more important causes are stress, the influence of diet and modern habits, ”he says.
If we have a bad day and we do not do well the emotional management of that sadness, for example, short -term food satisfies us, anesthesia, suppresses that emotion, because we are eating something pleasant
Carmen Blanco
– Psychologist
Eat emotionally
Emotional food is a compensation mechanism in which people eat, usually junk food or sweets, such as a ‘self -medication’ form An emotional state, since the intake of these foods produces, at least momentarily, a stress relief. In one recent studies review It could be verified that this way of eating was associated with stress, anxiety, depression, psychological discomfort and, as a consequence, with weight gain.
“If we have a bad day and we do not do the emotional management of that sadness well, for example, short -term food satisfies me, I anesthesia, suppresses that emotion, because I am eating something pleasant, especially if it is prosecuted,” explains Carmen White. “We have a bad relationship with emotions in general, no one has taught us to regulate them. If I am sad and I do not go to what is originating the problem, but I cover it with alcohol or with food, this can generate other problems, ”he adds.
“There are many patients who come to my consultation and who feel bad about resorting to food in this way,” says Dr. Puerma. “But they are compensation mechanisms that we all use to a greater or lesser extent. There are people who use tobacco or physical exercise, or even other substances much more toxic than food. But the problem is that a doctor can tell you, do not smoke, do not get high, but we cannot tell a person who does not eat, ”he adds.
Also the environment and signals Food consumption also greatly influence appetite control, interacting with these biological and mental systems. “I do a global assessment of the person: how is their neighborhood, if you have access to sports clues or it is insecure to run, if you have access to fresh food, what nutritional formation has, because the industry is easily deceiving us, and what Family or social difficulties, it has, ”explains Blanco.
But they are compensation mechanisms that we all use to a greater or lesser extent. There are people who use tobacco or physical exercise, or even other substances much more toxic than food
Joaquín Puerma
– Endocrine doctor
Many of the behaviors associated with appetite deregulation are automatic, and we are not very aware of them, something that has been verified in The context of eating disorders. The environment can be decisive, including social networks. “If we go to the supermarket to buy hungry, the supermarket is already in charge of putting the food in front. Social networks are another source that comes to undermine our behavior. They show a perfect life and it seems that no one can have a bad day. In the end it seems that it is normal to have this standard body, ”says the psychologist.
Get out of the vicious circle of emotional food
Many of these factors are feed in a vicious circle that is sometimes difficult to leave. For example, weight gain can increase the feeling of guilt, stress and frustration, which in turn try to relieve emotional food. “It’s a vicious circle: I have low self -esteem, I is sure, I take refuge in the food that gives me gratification and pleasure, and I don’t go out, I don’t stay with people, I don’t do sports,” says Carmen Blanco.
To do? The first step is always to rule out health problems. “Many times the alterations take to leave the analytics,” explains Dr. Puerma. “In addition to the numbers on the scale, there are problems, such as sleep apnea, which is closely related to excess weight, the highest tension, digestive problems, swelling, or that costs you more to climb the stairs,” he adds.
Changing the diet under professional supervision is also decisive. “People come very exhausted from diets and with a very defeatist attitude,” says Blanco. “Then we have to explain that this is a long process, that in the end we will change a lifestyle and flee those short -term, more reductionist diets. Establish realistic goals and progressive changes. Increase self -control, which is not willpower. What we want is for the person to be observer and control their own behaviors. You work from very basic things: go for a walk or gym with a friend, buy on-line, Set the meal schedule, eat with full attention, savor the food, without distractions, ”he explains.
There are irrational thoughts that do a lot of damage, such as ‘I have eaten a donut, I’m horrible, I’m never going to get out of here.’ This generates a violation of abstinence: I like the whole box. I do not normalize it as part of the process, but I blame me
Carmen Blanco
– Psychologist
“Drugs like Semaglutida [Ozempic] o Liraglutida can produce weight losses of 30%, similar to those of a bariatric surgery, ”explains Dr. Puerma. “Does it mean that we have to use them whenever there is overweight? No, only when we cannot achieve weight loss with change of habits, behavioral modifications, change of eating habits or increased physical exercise, ”he says.
Patience and assume that there will be relapses is a fundamental part of the process. “Feeding records are made so that the person becomes aware of how much he eats, how he eats and always accompanied a record of thoughts. When like this, what do I think? ”Explains Carmen Blanco. “There are irrational thoughts that do a lot of damage, such as ‘I have eaten a donut, I’m horrible, I’m never going out of here.’ This generates a violation of abstinence: I like the whole box. I do not normalize it as part of the process, but I blame me, ”he adds.
As a strategy, Carmen Blanco suggests the support of the environment and cultivate patience. “Sadness and isolation greatly reduce day -to -day gratification, and finding that gratification in food is very easy. Social support is very important: going out to do activities or even playing sports. ” For Blanco, “self -criticism demoralizes us and it is useless, we must celebrate small achievements,” he concludes.
*Darío Pescador is editor and director of the QUO MAGAZINE and author of the book Your best me Posted by Oberon.
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