Weight Regulation: How do we effectively lose weight?

The agricultural revolution happened about 10,000 years ago, and it was when we discovered we could farm certain crops in order to feed the growing villages. The success of the revolution transformed villages into cities. However, there were a lot of issues surrounding the logistics of transportation and storage of food, meaning a large portion of the harvest was lost before it got to be eaten. And a lack of mechanisation meant that that food had to be processed by manual labour. An incredible amount of labour went into creating relatively small amounts of food, that were barely enough for the growing cities and kingdoms. Food was a sign of wealth and so was obesity, and in some places in remote Africa and Asia, this fact still stands true.

Throughout most of human history, food and water were scarce. In fact, if you wanted to get the population’s attention you would do it through stories of abundant food and this is a tool that those in power and storytellers often used to their advantage. Places with abundant food were constantly depicted throughout sacred texts, and children’s stories as a ‘mystical lands’. Those with a Judeo-Christian world view are familiar with the tale of the Promised Land overflowing with ‘milk and honey’ and in Scandinavia, the cautionary tale of Hansel and Gretel spoke of a secret house in the woods build entirely out of candy, confectionery and pastries.

Food scarcity has always been a hot topic and was among the grievances that led to the French revolution in the late 1700s. It was also a major problem during the ‘dust bowl’ that coincided with the great depression. Looking at this trend, it shouldn’t surprise us that throughout most of history, a majority of the population were trim in stature. We see this in the paintings, sculptures and photographs that preceded the Second World War.

However, after World War 2 there was a dramatic change in America. The government encouraged large scale farming which made food cheaper and more available. They streamlined food transportation with specialised vehicles that could keep perishable food cool as it was being moved. Breakthroughs in science allowed for food to be processed with preservatives which gave it a longer shelf-life and further still refrigeration allowed people to store perishable food for longer in their homes. Constant availability of cheap food that started in America in the mid to late 1940s signalled that a majority of the human population was finally living in the ‘promised land’, located not in a secret place but a different time; the 20th Century.

Cheaper, more accessible food meant that people would be enjoying a lot more of it at their discretion. Around this period is when we see a slow uptick in the Uptick in American citizen’s Body Mass Index (BMI, is an attempt to quantify the amount of tissue mass - muscle, fat, and bone - in an individual, and then categorize that person as underweight, normal weight, overweight, or obese based on that value)

For an individual to move across the BMI index from normal weight to overweight, they have to be consuming an average of about 500 calories, on top of the usual breakfast, lunch and dinner meals. This 500 calorie surplus usually takes the form of snacks in between meals.

As time went on, the rest of the world started to eat more like Americans and adopted diets rich in carbs and fats. Fast food restaurant chains expanded throughout the developed world and this scale of operation allowed them to drop prices even further. Low prices, coupled with the convenience of getting a meal 7 minutes after you’ve ordered it and an amazing taste made fast food an easier choice as compared to healthier, more bland-tasting options. A majority of the working population in the developed world preferred the convenience and cost of fast food. This food, coupled with a sedentary lifestyle, and office type work may have contributed to the higher number of overweight and obese cases of the working population which represents the middle and lower class of the society.

In 2016, 39 per cent of the adults worldwide were classified as overweight and about 13 per cent were classified as obese.

In Africa any headlines around food seem to revolve around the drought, scarcity or corruption, however, the rates of obesity seem to be going up alarmingly across the continent as well. In the past 36 years, the prevalence of adult obesity has jumped 1400 per cent in Burkina Faso and more than 500 per cent in Ghana, Benin, Ethiopia and Togo. This isn’t to say that there isn’t widespread hunger as a result of conflict, corruption and poverty, but that on top of this, there is also an overweight population that is putting pressure on an already overwhelmed healthcare system.

Surges in obesity are more often than not followed by a rise in ‘fitness culture’. Gyms seem to be popping up left right and centre offering an outlet for physical exertion.

The truth is however that, over 90 per cent of the energy that comes from food goes into bodily processes like, sustaining a heartbeat, generating warmth, keeping your hair and fingernails growing. Very little energy from food actually goes into workouts and as a result, you end up being more prone to increases in appetite. A higher appetite means you consume more calories. And this creates a sort of a catch 22 for the person who intends to work out in order to lose weight and so these fitness centres began to offer dietary advice to accompany a workout often emphasising that weight regulation has more to do with one’s diet rather than work out schedule.

So we began to watch what we eat, and this caution over food has fuelled a $ 66 billion dieting and weight loss industry in America alone, with the rest of the world quickly catching up.

These diets have been marketed as easy, quick and effective, with attractive well-toned models being used as the face of the campaign. But the reality of the situation is that diets are very difficult to follow, and misleading commercials drive people to think they are the problem and not the diet, which couldn’t be further from the truth. The shame from having failed at a diet drives people to comfort food, and after binge eating the guilt drives them back to the diet. And these brands have this cycle built into their business model, which is why they market the way they do. Despite diets being marketed as effective, science is yet to confirm this.

The first step should be openness: which means walking into a routine knowing full well that it won’t be pleasant. Starting there you are in a better position to handle yourself in case of any lapses, and it gives a sense of accomplishment when you’re able to tighten the metaphorical belt over long periods of time.

It’s been very difficult to properly monitor people but shows like Citizen TVs ‘slimpossible’ have made it easier to study what it would be like and what it would take to lose a lot of weight at once.

Following up on the show's participants we see a fair number of them gain about 20 per cent of their weight back. Take Norah Odundo, the season 4 slim possible winner who lost 39.8 Kgs on the show. In a follow-up piece by the Daily Nation she openly spoke about her weight gain, “Two years ago, I had returned to 130kgs and I decided that was it. I began changing my eating habits slowly. I first changed my breakfast, then lunch and then dinner. Then I began taking walks and doing home workouts.”

So, are there diets that work?

Over time the debate on diets has settled around cutting sugars or cutting carbs from the everyday diet.

It’s difficult to monitor which one has the highest impact because the number of variables between individuals is too many; Ranging from genetics to blood groups, personal rates of metabolism and so much more. So how do we pick a diet that works?

In an effort to settle this debate Dr Christopher Gardener carried out a study to compare how either diet affects weight loss. Participants were selected at random for either diet, from a mixed pool of participants. The point of the diet was to exclude either fat or carbs from the diet while still eating enough to avoid being hungry all the time.

The results of both were nearly identical and this means that it’s pretty much down to the individual to find what works for them. And when the pressure was off and the participants were able to settle into a diet that worked for them, they began to report about a 500 calorie deficit in their everyday meals without knowing and this is perfect for losing weight or even consistently maintaining a certain weight.

The findings from the study are that it’s down to the individual to experiment and find out whether cutting sugar works for them or they are more comfortable cutting carbohydrates from their diet.

As said by ….. “Just find a diet that works for you, lay off junk & fast food as much as you can, drink a reasonable amount of water & work out as regularly and comfortably as you can… you’ll be okay”