“I think patients blame themselves be-
cause previously there was a lack of medi-
cal science to explain the causes of obe-
sity, the genetic predisposition and the
reason why the body wants to go back up
in weight. So people need to know that
obesity is not necessarily their fault, that
there are multiple factors associated with
increased weight that has very little to do
with the person’s inability to practice re-
straint behaviours,” Dr. Wharton said.
In the workplace, the impacts of obesity
are especially felt through reduced produc-
tivity and higher rates of absenteeism and
disability, added Cathy Fuchs, a long-time
employee benefits consultant at White
Willow Benefit Consultants.
Within weight loss, there are two main
types — short term and long term. The
former is comparable to a bride losing
just enough weight to fit into her wedding
dress. Though easily done, it is difficult to
maintain and weight regain becomes in-
evitable. “That is your cognitive willpower
overriding your hypothalamus, which is an
automatically functioning part of the brain
that has a control on weight,” Dr. Wharton
said.
Though we can override most of our
body’s automatic functions, it can only be
done for a short period of time. “That’s
why almost everybody can manage short-
term weight loss, but they can’t manage
long-term weight loss because long-term
“The best way to treat it is to understand it.”Dr. SeanWharton, medical director
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JUNE 2016
