Anushka Asthana talk to Dr. Andrew Jenkinson, a consultant in bariatric surgery (for weight loss). He discusses how his patients’ failed weight loss experiences have led him to spend years researching metabolism and weight reduction. Why, although most people consume foods with a lot of calories, only a few become obese?
Genes predispose to obesity, he says, but your genetics must be triggered by environmental changes if you are to become obese. In areas of the world where people eat fresh local ingredients, people do not become obese. But if you switch this food supply to processed foods, some of those populations will become obese.
The UAE is a good example of that, says Jenkinson, who maintains clinics in Dubai. He notes that for two generations the population had been eating a Bedouin diet. Now, they have a much more processed diet and obesity rates have skyrocketed – 50% of women in the UAE are obese.
Jenkinson believes that by lowering sugar and refined carbohydrates, increasing our levels of omega 3 and 6 and lowering our levels of cortisol (stress hormone), instead of cutting calories, people can permanently reduce their weight.
Jenkinson’s book, Why We Eat (Too Much), has already been released. whyweeattoomuch.co.uk
Archive: YouTube; ABC the biggest loser; University of Minnesota School of Public Health; Fox; Get the shine; The Body Coach; Huntley movie archives
Photograph: Chris Radburn / PA
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