BMSA International

For some time now it has seemed that barely a day goes by without one more "amazing" diet hitting the shelves, or worse still, being promoted by a government agency who should know better.

In their efforts to combat scary increases in overweight and obesity and the even scarier health costs of caring for diseases of obesity, governments all over the Western world are dishing out heavy-handed health messages that in fact seem to result in even more tragic consequences.

How do we stop people from using ineffective and even dangerous methods to lose weight?  How do we overcome the problems created by unvalidated health promotion strategies, even by our own government?

I hope this issue of Journal of Modern Practice will provide some answers for you, and if you're currently providing services in the area of weight loss, or if after reading this would like to add an effective weight loss program to your practice, I hope you might allow us to work with you to build this satisfying and lucrative component to your practice, joining forces to reverse desperately worrying health trends.

Enjoy the read!

Sincerely

Christine Sutherland
Co-Founder - BMSA International

PS:  Click HERE to view a video presentation explaining the theory and use of BMSA.  Please note that as a Free Member of BMSA, you can comment on this video, give feedback or ask questions.

The Need for Effective Weight Loss Programs

I can't speak definitively for other countries in relation to overweight and obesity rates, but I do know that if anything, those rates are even higher in the US and UK than they are here in Australia.

In Australia these rates are increasing steadily.  Childhood obesity has trebled in the last 20 years, and over half the population is overweight or obese.  By the year 2020, based on current trends, over 75% of the Australian population will be overweight or obese.

The cost of treating direct health consequences of overweight and obesity are estimated to be in excess of $1.5 billion each year and rising.  The indirect health costs (for example treatment of cancers and other diseases at least partially attributable to overweight) are most likely even greater.  The cost in lost productivity, let alone human pain and suffering, is incalculable.

So we certainly need effective weight loss programs more than we ever have before.  The problem is, the most popular programs, and the most heavily government-subsidised health promotion strategies, are merely serving to make things worse.

The Problem with Current Approaches to Weight Loss

Thanks to statistical data collected by the Australian Commonwealth Health Department, we now know that regardless of the type of diet attempted (ie whether a "fad" diet or a so-called "healthy" diet), dieting fails for nearly 100% of people.  Not only that, but dieting actually adds an average of 6 lbs of extra fat per dieter, per year.

As well as failing miserably to help people lose weight, dieting has several crucial defects (you can read a comprehensive list on the BMSA site), the most tragic of which is the unequivocal link with childhood eating disorders, and the child deaths that arise from those disorders.

Another strategy frequently used to lose weight is an exercise program, which might be a daily walking activity, or could be a full-fledged gym program.  Unfortunately the results of these programs are even worse than that of diet programs.  People fail in even greater numbers, more quickly, because the programs are not sustainable.

Finally we need to examine government health initiatives, especially the health promotion programs which governments sponsor in an effort to improve community health and reduce health costs.  We have had these programs long enough in Australia, starting with the famous "Norm" cartoon character urging us to get off the couch in 1997, to the "Find 30" ads, and now the "Dame Edna" character in a doctor/patient scenario supposedly encouraging us to eat a minimum of 5 servings of fruit and veggies a day.

It's now clear that these health messages are having a result, but not the one required.  It seems that what these heavy-handed and patronising admonitions do achieve is a deep sense of guilt and shame, strong enough to throw increasing numbers of children and adults into unhealthy binge/starve eating patterns and also into full-fledged eating disorders in a desperate attempt to give the appearance of being slim and healthy, while their health is in fact being seriously undermined. 

Why Diet Companies Should be Illegal

Knowing that dieting fails for nearly 100% of people, surely by now dieting should be totally discredited as a weight loss method!  In my view it should be illegal to promote diets or eating plans, and it should certainly be illegal to publish diets in women's magazines.  To advertise any diet approach as a method of weight loss is blatant false advertising and should be treated so.

Why Weight Loss Should be the Province of Expert Therapists

Overweight and obesity are not true food issues, but certainly are psychological issues, for several reasons:

• People have a psychological addiction to certain foods, and certain quantities of food.
  

• People have psychological reasons (or causes) for maintaining excessive weight.

• Many people have lost sight of what comprises a fully-human existence, and act as though they are trapped in lives that do not support their health and wellbeing.

• Many people are unaware that their lifestyle is not healthy - it's not unusual for whole families or whole communities to be completely out of touch with what constitutes "normal life".

• Weight loss is NOT merely about "energy in/energy out".  Metabolic rate has a huge impact on weight, and metabolism problems may be due to lifestyle, hormonal disturbances, stress, sleep dysfunction, and a host of other issues which it is the therapist's job to investigate and if necessary refer for proper medical attention (not a "metabolism quack").

• Permanent behavioural change, based on altered unconscious preferences for food and activity, is the one and only way to guarantee permanent weight normalisation.
  

None of these factors are factors which a diet company should be involved in.  All of them are factors which therapists deal with (or should be dealing with) on a daily basis, and which they are fully qualified and experienced to deal with.

Getting the Message across to Clients

If we've learned anything at all from the "great diet debacle" and from longitudinal studies of failed health promotion strategies it is that we must avoid heavy-handedness that triggers shame-based behaviour in clients, and we must educate our clients against weight loss dieting and exercise programs, including anything that involves calorie counting, point counting, or any other obsessive, abnormal food habits.

These things must be comprehensively rejected.

Instead, our emphasis must be on quality of life issues.  We need to spend time investigating the psychological makeup of our clients, and their lifestyle practices and habits, discovering what areas are or are not supporting health and wellbeing, and what psychological and other factors may be in the way of adopting a happier, healthier and more fulfilling life, including better nutrition, and access to regular, physical play time.

Because the plain fact of the matter is that when people are psychologically well, and when they are eating delicious and interesting food that fuels their body properly, and are engaged regularly in physical play time, overweight ceases to be an issue.

Over the coming months I'll be building more resources to aid you in delivering more effective weight loss programs to your clients, as individuals and in groups, including a 7-day program that you can even take into your community as a volunteer-led group program.

Please ensure that you (and your colleagues) are registered as free members of BMSA International, and also that you take the time to register separately on the professional forums, where we have a dedicated weight loss treatment forum for those members working with weight loss clients.

FREE CLIENT RESOURCES

In order to assist you in your work with clients we're preparing several client handouts which you can freely download and distribute.  In addition, we have commenced our own health promotion strategy, the Kind Communities Initiative, which encourages community interaction, puts a strong focus on the advantages of being involved in local sporting clubs, and delivers busy families with the resources they need to live well and thrive.

The Kind Communities Initiative is delivered free of charge to each interested region.  

The flagship local site is CarineClub.com and is currently in the launch process.  As this site becomes an established community resource, we hope to replicate it free of charge nationally and internationally.

TopLifeSolutions.com

The TopLifeSolutions.com web site exists in order to support health and wellbeing of individuals, families, and communities, and specifically to disseminate evidence-based health and wellbeing strategies, and to educate the general public about what constitutes a scientific approach to a range of health issues such as weight loss, smoking cessation, depression, anxiety, etc..

It is our hope that some of our members may be willing to be promoted on this site as practitioners of BMSA, for delivery of BMSA-based programs.  There is no charge for listing because our prime motivation is to bring together clients and therapists in a truly effective liaison.

If you are a qualified health professional and would like to be promoted in this way, please let me know!

FastFoodBank.com

The FastFoodBank.com is a fun site which hopes to engage people in sharing super-fast, healthy recipes.  The premise here is that home-prepared fast food is faster, cheaper, and a whole lot more tasty and interesting than fast food purchased from a shop.  This single initiative can help families save thousands of dollars every year as well as increase family health and happiness.

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