Something has surprised me in my most recent health and wellbeing coaching venture, here in a medical centre in the south of New Zealand, in amongst one of the most active and ‘healthy’ populations in the world – that is the rise of the prescription of weight loss medications.
Now both here and in the UK where I have done the majority of my coaching up to now, the use of drugs for weight loss, both prescription and otherwise is increasing and while I don’t LOVE it, I recognise that for some it can be useful.
There are a number of different types of weight loss medications varying in cost, effectiveness, dependent on the individual too and varying by the mechanism by which they work. Some act as a laxative, some act as an appetite suppressant, others impact the metabolism, amongst other effects on the body.
In some ways I thought that we were making such great moves towards the long game of eradicating diet culture from our society in the hope that we can all move and feel energy and consume a diet in a way that feels great for us as individuals (of course I recognise that this is still a long, way away). The role that I undertake, both in my private work and otherwise, focusses on making sustainable changes in line with our goals, needs, lifestyles and preferences from a physical activity, nutrition and wider wellbeing perspective, looking holistically at things like sleep, hydration, mild to moderate mental health issues, hormonal health and a number of other things. The prevalence of weight loss drugs in practice in a primary care team is slightly disheartening I have to admit.
It is important to highlight at this point that weight loss medication is not an ‘easy way out’ and does require some wider work on the part of the recipient.
I somehow feel like this rise in the use of weight loss medications is undermining the work being done to reverse years of damage done to, especially the mindsets of women, around the notion that living in a smaller body is somehow superior, that leaner looks ‘better’. You know me, I want nothing more than for women (and men of course!) to feel energised, healthy in both body and mind and confident as they move through their day to day, whatever that looks like for them.
It is, of course, worth highlighting that for some people weight loss medications will assist them towards reaching a place of PHYSICAL health if they have existing comorbidities associated with being overweight, or if they require surgery unable to be performed due to their weight for example. I do know, however, that the very vast majority of these individuals are not given the support and health literacy required to understand their situation and manage it from a mental health perspective either during the time period that they are taking the medication or afterwards as they transition away from it.
There are many individuals, however, that are prescribed weight loss medication with the suggestion that purely by reducing their body fat they will become healthier. Now we all know that isn’t always the case despite the impact that we know that our levels of body fat can have on our overall health, especially if the wider support needed isn’t received. We know by now that there are many facets to our health aside from simply the physical, including our mental, social, financial and spiritual health.
Why do we, and medical professionals, still admire this idea that ‘thin’ is the ideal?
I was speaking with friends only this morning about the notion that weight loss is so often celebrated without even knowing whether that person is healthy – have they got an addiction to exercise that you are fuelling by telling them they look great having lost weight? Have they developed an illness causing them to lose weight? Are they partaking in unhealthy nutrition practices and have perhaps never felt so unhealthy mentally? Are they socially isolating in a bid to achieve said weight loss? Worth a second thought next time you comment on someone’s weight loss! What this can also fuel is making others or even subconsciously, yourself feel inadequate based on the stories you tell yourself when you aren’t achieving ‘thinner’. Who made up the notion that smaller is ‘more beautiful’ anyway? There are cultures where that absolutely is not the case. Why are our mental health, our nutrition and lifestyle choices SO influenced by someone that came up with an arbitrary measure on beauty so long ago?
Something I work on in my coaching when people approach me with a weight loss goal (which is something I am more than happy to help people to achieve by the way, as long as it comes from a place of positivity and the understanding of the reasoning behind that goal), is the ‘why’ behind the goal. It’s so important that we nail that from a mental health and food and exercise relationship perspective before we embark on a weight loss journey. The support around this is improving in primary health care but it is absolutely not where it needs to be yet and it isn’t growing on the same trajectory as the increase in prescription of weight loss medication, which is worrying to me.
One day I hope that we can be in a position whereby we can all accept that ‘healthy’ looks different to us all and can also fluctuate throughout our lives – for me, it is very loosely, the place that your body and mind wants to be, while also leading the lifestyle that is manageable, enjoyable and most desired for you.
It’s worth checking with yourself when thoughts of your goals, whatever they may be, come about – is this truly my goal, or is it the result of an ideal that society and culture has placed upon me?
And if you have any questions or discussion points, you know I love to chat. I’m just an email or a message away!
Peace and love as always, A x
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