National Obesity Awareness Week 2015 encourages small changes now for long-term gains

Monday saw the beginning of National Obesity Awareness Week 2015, a campaign that aims to take back control of the nation’s spiralling obesity crisis, and, as many of us will have ‘weight loss’ as one of our New Year’s resolutions, there is no better time to act than now.

Alarmingly, around 25% of adults are deemed to be obese. According to NHS Choices, a BMI of 30 to 39.9 means you are considered obese, and the government claims that unless the problem is tackled, 60% of men, 50% of women and 24% of children will be obese by the year 2050.

Clearly, obesity is an incredibly serious problem that needs fighting. It effects not only our personal health – increasing the risk of problems including heart attacks, stroke, cancer, type 2 diabetes and arthritis – but can have a detrimental impact to society.

McKinsey and Company produced a report last year documenting the country’s various yearly outgoings, with their economic analysis estimating that the fight against obesity is costing the UK even more than tackling armed violence, war and terrorism. According to their calculations, the problem of obesity costs the UK in excess of £46.5bn ($73bn) a year, in comparison to the £43bn ($67bn) it costs the country due to armed violence, war and terrorism. The biggest social cost to the country though – and by some distance – remains smoking, with the impact from smoking costing a staggering £57bn ($86bn) in 2012.

On a global scale, armed violence, war and terrorism is costing the economy $2.1 trillion a year, and obesity isn’t too far behind, at $2 trillion, with the following social burden being alcoholism, costing $1.4 trillion.

Unfortunately, obesity appears to be a growing problem. Almost a quarter of children are considered to be obese upon leaving primary school, in addition to the one in four adults also obese. Over 12,000 hospital appointments are made each year because of health issues associated with obesity, placing further pressure on an already stretched NHS budget.

However, this is where National Obesity Awareness Week comes into play, aiming to promote the various methods how the government, businesses and us as individuals can implement positive steps to boost our health, with the information and resources from the campaign enabling a long-term positive change. This doesn’t mean people have to make astronomical alterations, but smaller, manageable and sustainable changes that can be kept up beyond National Obesity Awareness Week – this might be cutting down on sugar in your diet, reducing alcohol intake, or increasing the amount of exercise you do.


The campaign encourages everyone to get involved, whether it is events, activities and promotions taking place around the country, or people can even organise their own event with the online supporters’ pack.

The National Obesity Awareness Week website is also full of fantastic, useful information, such as exercise tips to help successful weight loss, an explanation of calories and the number of calories expended in an hour of doing various exercise such as running or swimming, why low-fat diets don’t always work for those trying to lose weight, healthier cooking recipes, a breakdown of the vitamins and minerals we need in our diets and their purposes, how to stay active during pregnancy and much more.


So, whatever it is you decide to do to take part, why don’t we all commit to making 2015 the year we take action with manageable and sustainable changes to turn the obesity crisis around before it is too late.

Medical Specialists® Pharmacy can also help those trying to lose weight, with our fantastic range of obesity treatments such as Xenical and Orlistat. Used in conjunction with a balanced diet and exercise, these treatments are very effective and can help people regain their confidence to enjoy a happier and healthier 2015!

Gut bacteria could be heavily linked to obesity risk

A team of scientists have found that ‘good’ gut bacteria could play a key role in determining if you become or overweight or obese and help to protect against suffering from a heart attack or stroke – medical problems often caused by being overweight.

The findings from two studies demonstrate that by adhering to a diet rich in fibre, this could help to alter the makeup of these germs, and allow people to more easily shed excess weight.

“We know gut bacteria affect health and obesity, but we don’t know exactly how,” commented Dusko Ehrlich, one of the co-authors of the two new studies and coordinator of the International Human Microbiome Standards project.

He added: “People who put on the most weight lack certain bacterial species or have them at very low levels. This opens ways to develop bacterial therapies to fight weight gain.”

There are many health experts who are adamant it is the gut that is the primary area that is crucial in regards to weight gain or weight loss.

Jeffrey Cirillo, a professor at Texas A&M Health Science Center’s department of microbial pathogenesis and immunology, says: “It is now well known that bacteria in our gut play an important role in our health and well-being, possibly as important as our own immune response and proper nutrition. This means that disruption of the bacteria in our gut by use of antibiotics or eating foods that help only particular bacteria grow can have effects upon our entire bodies.”

Back in March a study was published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, explaining that gastric bypass surgery resulted in weight loss (in mice) due to changes in their intestinal bacteria.
The new studies were published yesterday in the journal Nature, and in one of them, the researchers looked at gut bacteria of 169 Danish people who were obese and 123 Danish people who were not obese.

Those obese were generally found to have ‘less diverse’ gut germs, with more abnormalities with regards to metabolism. Those with a less diverse group of germs also tended to put on weight.
Cirillo says that although there is some uncertainty how obesity and bacteria are linked, from the research it would seem that the germs themselves have metabolisms which impact the overall metabolism within the human of where they live.

Study co-author Ehrlich says there may be a practical application to be had from the research, commenting: “The study lays ground for a simple test, which should tell people what their risk for developing obesity-linked diseases is,” If they are found to be at risk, diet changes may be necessary he says.

For a second study, researchers tracked the gut bacteria of 49 overweight and obese people as they were put on diets that were low-fat and low-calorie in an attempt to lose weight, but were also high in protein and included foods rich in fibre such as fruit and vegetables. The participants subsequently seemed to benefit from a change in the bacterial makeup within their guts because of the diet.

“Although these are relatively early and small studies on the topic, they suggest that management of our own diets can improve the richness of the flora within our guts and decrease our chances of becoming obese,” said Cirillo. “This does not mean that changes in diet will be effective for all people or that they can prevent obesity no matter how much someone eats, but that they can help the situation.”