We are currently facing an epidemic of obesity and diabetes that could bankrupt the NHS and affect the quality of life of millions of people. Over recent years there has been increasing focus on the psychological barriers to successful and sustainable weight loss, with an appreciation of the need to address the underlying causes for why we overeat and become overweight or obese.
Behaviour change has been shown to be an important part of the multi-disciplinary approach to weight loss, and is likely to be the vital factor in maintaining any weight loss. Comfort eating, habit eating and other self-sabotaging behaviours can result in unsuccessful weight-loss interventions or may be factors in why we regain any weight lost, which may in turn lead to a sense of failure and decreased motivation. It makes sense that whether we lose weight through diet and exercise, or weight-loss medications, or very low-calorie diets, or even bariatric surgery, if we do not address the underlying reasons why we became overweight in the first place we are at increased risk of putting that weight back on.
The term ‘talking therapy’ has become common-place to describe interventions that aim to help identify the emotional issues that underlie problems such as over- or under-eating, and teach individuals the techniques to manage them. The term is wide ranging and can be used to include holistic approaches more associated with life-coaching, for the identification of barriers and appropriate goal-setting, together with motivational interviewing. However, it also includes techniques to help facilitate the behaviour changes required. This can include established techniques such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), but also neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), emotional freedom technique (EFT), percussive suggestion technique (PSTEC) and hypnotherapy, which all work in different ways, allowing therapies to be tailored to the individual. At the Rotherham Institute for Obesity we were very early adopters of talking therapies, and anecdotally believe these to be the most important of all our interventions for keeping weight off. Practitioners working within the field of weight management need to embrace talking therapies, consider their use for appropriate individuals, and help to add to the evidence base to allow us to know which interventions are most effective for tackling obesity. This book gives a detailed insight into some of these techniques, and how successful they can be.
Dr Matthew S Capehorn
Clinical Director, National Obesity Forum (NOF)
Clinical Manager, Rotherham Institute for Obesity (RIO)