Living a Healthy Lifestyle is Most Favorable

By , SparkPeople Blogger
When a Health News headline popped up recently on SparkPeople.com, it caught our attention. Survey results reported last month indicate Australian researchers confirmed what we already believed. People desire help to change their lifestyle instead of programs that label and stigmatize or dieting quick fixes that break their bank.

A report published in the July issue of BMC Health summarized the views of 142 obese Australians related to weight intervention approaches. Here is what was discovered.

Researchers phoned Australian citizens that fit into a set weight category. Respondents were asked their feelings regarding six intervention approaches currently used to assist those dealing with obesity in Australia. The results revealed people liked programs focused on healthy changes that encouraged improving overall lifestyle instead of those solely focused on weight loss. They were not as interested in invasive, higher risk options such as gastric surgery or those that were stigmatizing such as targeted media campaigns. Interviewees were equally uninterested in commercial programs focused strictly on weight loss. There was also a high degree of skepticism related to the dieting industry. The biggest take home from the study was the reinforcement of what I found to be true when I started working as a dietitian years ago. People want personalized plans, support, and programs that empower them for long-term success.

Weight loss is one piece of a much bigger puzzle. Weight gain is a symptom of something, whether it is disease, habits, or behaviors. If people only focus on the symptom and bypass the cause, they increase the likelihood they will repeatedly deal with the issue again and again. As this study reveals and many people can confirm, understanding how to deal with the issues that led to weight gain is the key to success. As Dr. Phil likes to say, "You can't change what you don't acknowledge." Today is the day to acknowledge that the puzzle has many pieces of which weight is one. When you start to focus on all the pieces in the puzzle more than you focus on just one piece, the picture becomes much more obvious.

Do you agree with the Australians in this study that a healthy lifestyle approach is more desirable than dieting programs, stigmatizing campaigns or surgery? If you could create an ideal plan to help you succeed, what would it be?

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