You’re not alone in battle against bulge
Consultant dietician, Sigrid De Silva, who founded Sri Lanka’s first obesity support group, believes that community can be a key part of an effective weight loss regimen. So many of the battles of obesity are psychological and emotional ones, she points out. While nothing can replace the advice of healthcare professionals when it comes to therapy, exercise and nutrition, there’s always room for a little help from your friends. This week, Sigrid talks to MediScene about the ‘Our Journey Together Community’.
Sigrid De Silva
Sigrid says that she thought long and hard about what to call the group. She wanted people to be able to find it online and so the official name of the group is actually Obesity Support. Its second name, Our Journey Together, is an acknowledgement that the entire group is in it together and there for each other. “I understand because I have been dealing with this for so long,” says Sigrid, explaining that obesity can have a dramatic and negative impact on all spheres of everyday life from the home to the office.
Someone is said to be obese if they have a Body Mass Index of 30 or above. From there people might be further classified as super obese, and so on. The high excess of body fat that is associated with the condition brings with it a host of illnesses and can lead to reduced life expectancy, as well as put the person at risk of serious conditions like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, as well as certain types of cancer and osteoarthritis.
It is believed that obesity is the result of excessive food intake paired with a sedentary lifestyle or insufficient exercise. Genetic susceptibility could put one more at risk, while endocrine disorders, medications, or psychiatric illness underlie a small section of cases. Sigrid sees many patients struggling with weight loss, and she knows that the process can be emotionally draining and dispiriting. This led her to encourage a small group to get together to support each other through their weight loss.
As Sigrid points out, the condition is one people must live with day in and day out. Many face rejection from loved ones or incessant judgment and nagging about their weight. Others are casually discriminated against at work, or find socialising difficult. For many, simply going shopping is an exercise in humiliation. Years living with the condition can leave people alienated, and struggling with profound depression and thoughts of committing suicide.
Sigrid sees huge advantages in building a community of people who are facing similar challenges. “People often feel like they must be the only ones with this problem,” she says, explaining that after just one meeting people don’t feel quite as alone. However, some are initially reluctant as they are often concerned about privacy. It’s why the first and unbreakable rule of the group is absolute confidentiality. What happens at Obesity Support stays at Obesity Support.
The small group often find it useful to examine the psychology underlying their weight gain. For many, the excessive eating has its roots in their childhood or adolescence. The resulting lack of confidence and self-consciousness can make it harder to take constructive measures to lose weight and then keep it off. Sigrid has enjoyed watching her group find strength in each other as they share their insights and advice. She is also seeing noticeable improvements in confidence and general emotional wellbeing.
The group is suitable for anyone who is overweight and “feels they would benefit from it, who think they lack confidence or who are really going through troubling times in their lives,” says Sigrid. She emphasises, however, that it is no replacement for diet therapy, professional advice on lifestyle adjustment or individual counselling sessions with a healthcare professional.
Sigrid who has worked with patients both in Sri Lanka and Germany says that she’s noticed the former are less inclined to talk about themselves. She feels the group will be of particular help to those who “literally swallow their problems.” She hopes the gathering will change that. “One can learn to express their hardship and know they are not alone.”
Find out more online at www.facebook.com/Obesity Support
| More about the sessions The group consists currently of only a handful of people who meet in a secluded room at a Health and Welness Centre in central Colombo. Entry is free, but the group pitch in (typically around Rs.100 – Rs.200 per head) to cover the costs of renting the space. There is no format, and instead the idea is people share their stories with each other. Some have also taken to using social media as a way to provide 24/7 support to each other over Facebook Messenger, Viber, Whatsapp or via SMS. There is no formal membership and people may come and go as they like. There are no gender or age barriers. Each session lasts just over an hour. As a rule of thumb, meetings are once every two weeks. However, the group is flexible and in cases where one person needs more support, they’ve met more regularly just to provide that. “So few people seem to understand these individuals,” says Sigrid, identifying Obesity Support as a place they can “voice their struggles and their thoughts.” | |