By, Alan Jackson, Course Director of Discovery Learning and Weight Management Centre

A recent article on Times Online http://bit.ly/14g9li looked at the relationship between exercise and obesity and suggested that the exercise element was not that important. I suggest you read this and then read the article online and make your own judgement.

Perhaps this article isn’t as skewed as it would first appear. The author rightly points out the enormous health benefits of regular moderate intensity physical activity (even in the absence of weight loss).  The morgues are full of lean people who died of coronary artery disease because they took no exercise.   The article also rightly acknowledges that the best predictor of maintenance of weight lost is an increase in physical activity, a feature of exercise that is well documented.  I would also tend agree with the inference of the article that the calorie value of exercise in terms of long term weight management is probably not that relevant, and in fact for obese people the American College of Sports Medicine (a leading authority on obesity and exercise) concur that for obese people it is not at all relevant.

A major omission however is the psychological impact that an increase in levels of exercise has on an individual, and its subsequent impact on lifestyle choices.  These changes are driven by biological adaptations alongside changes in brain chemistry, and there is some evidence that exercise has a positive impact on energy regulatory systems and appetite control.  Is the inverse relationship with physical activity and BMI related to the calories burned or is it the more highly tuned appetite and energy regulatory systems that these people develop – the answer is not known!

The general sense of wellbeing, high self esteem and increase in self efficacy brought about by exercise are powerful drivers of judgement, and I believe are far more effective in managing weight than the actual calorie value of the workout.  If you feel good about yourself, you make better decisions in all aspects of your life, if you feel lousy about yourself, you make poor choices.

This brings me onto the flip side of the coin.  I live in London, perhaps one of the most obesogenic environments in the world, where continuous and increasing pressures bear down on the population that make the unhealthy choice the easy choice at every turn. On top of this we know that there is a genetic susceptibility to weight gain for some people, a powerful fragment of evolutionary insurance that offers the “thrifty genotype” a better chance of surviving a famine – they use less energy and need less food to gather body fat than say an ectomorph (the traditional skinny person that can apparently eat plenty and not gain weight).

And finally, I am fairly convinced that the underpinning element of the obesity epidemic (wow this is a big call) is a consistent increase in the energy density and palatability of our food over the past 30 years.  Food processing means that food is now cheaper, more calorie dense and tastes better than ever before, it’s also ubiquitous. In the face of 500kcal snacks, that are being consumed in vast quantities, alongside a society that is habitually persuaded to be sedentary, population obesity is inevitable.

The obesity debate is at the early stages and we are far from any real conclusions, it’s a massive subject.  If anyone is really interested in learning more, you could do a lot worse than enrol on a Level 4 Obesity Management Course.

My advice for what it is worth is to take regular daily exercise at a moderate intensity level for at least 30 minutes, and try to eat more fresh food.

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By, Alan Jackson, Weight Management Practitioner and Director of Weight Management Centre and Discovery Learning

So here I am, with fifteen or so parents in this small room, all of their children are overweight or obese (mainly obese) and most, if not all, of the parents are likewise. I can tell by their belligerent stares and negative body language that they will be a tough crowd.  I’m there to put it to them that the reason that their children are overweight is due mainly to the job that they are doing as parents.  Their children’s weight won’t reduce just because the wind changes and, as the saying goes: ‘If you do what you’ve always done, you get what you’ve always got!’

I cast an eye around the room and pick out the ones that I know are spoiling for a fight. The mum with the unruly four year old that has not stopped whinging and carrying on since we arrived is a dead cert.  I can read their minds: “Look at old lanky, here no doubt to bring me another pious lecture about how to bring up my kids. Probably some health & fitness freak with a cabbage obsession, living in a mews house in Kensington.  Well I’ll let him know what being a single mum bringing up three kids on a council estate in Mitcham teaches you, and that is that you get your revenge in first!”

Feebly and with breathtaking insincerity I introduce myself; I know now for sure they can see straight through it.  These guys are street wise, they are first class honours graduates of the University of Hard Knocks; I don’t stand a chance!  The silence is deafening, it lasts forever; meanwhile, their stares turn to scowls.  Just as I contemplate feigning a seizure, the silence is shattered by the crashing of a flinging door.  In blusters the obligatory late comer, complete with flailing umbrella and soaking coat.  Cursing the traffic, and furious at the inconvenience of being dragged along to another pointless nanny state social project.  Her entrance further agitates the by now palpably hostile audience.

It’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it I tell myself!

As usual it’s all in my head, and of course they are a great bunch of people, mums and dads just like anyone else, trying to make headway against a strong opposing tide.  We have a laugh, get acquainted and each of them talks about their experiences and the challenges that they face. We share ideas and exchange snippets on how to outsmart the kids, how to draw upon our knowledge and resolve when the going gets tough, and hopefully how to make a few better choices for ourselves on route.

As always they come up with great solutions to the recurring themes, and realise that they are not alone in their struggle to rear healthy weight children in modern Britain.  I too as always learn a few more tips from them for the next programme.  Following a really productive 30 minutes, everyone is really motivated and I can feel their renewed enthusiasm for tackling the many challenges that they face.

We move next door to where the fitness team is working with the children.  As always I am genuinely moved to see these young children, who despite in some cases their severe obesity, exude the vitality and exuberance that is innate in every child.  The children and the staff inspire me; together they remind me why I love this job so much.

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