Ask Dr. Ceren: It's Not My Fault. Blame My Genes!
© 2003-2006, Sandra Levy Ceren. All Rights Reserved.

While obesity may run in families, it is usually due to the high calorie food one becomes accustomed to as a child. After trying various methods to lose weight riding a roller coaster of loss and gain, it is no wonder that some people may blame their inability to sustain a healthy weight on their genes. After all, they’ve made the effort, but they can’t keep the pounds from returning.

Blaming one’s genes is not the answer. You cannot help your body type, but you can sculpt muscles through exercise, and you can reduce your body weight through lessened caloric intake and alert yourself to the fat calories in various foods. This requires a sustained effort which will in a short time become an effortless pattern of appropriate food selection and consumption accompanied by at least one half hour of daily exercise.

Although we’re considered a vain society, a recent report by the U.S. Surgeon General states 61% of Americans are now significantly overweight, compared with 55% in the early 1990s, and 46% in the late 1970s.

Obesity presents a health danger, diabetes and heart disease, the most significant and generating $117 billion in annual medical bills. Obesity triggers 300,000 premature deaths each year. So many Americans are now overweight that one attorney is actually suing the junk-food industry for making Americans obese!

Americans now spend more on fast food than they do on movies, books, magazines, newspapers videos and recorded music combined. They spend more on mass-produced burgers than on higher education, or computers, or cars. More than 90% of American children eat at a fast food hamburger place at least once a month, and the average American eats three hamburgers and four orders of fries every week according to Fast Food Nation.

Restaurants and food companies have a vested economic interest in making tasty food and in increasing per capita consumption. In this country, food is delicious, cheap, and readily available. Combine that with some individual's need to use food to fill a sense of emptiness, to comfort and provide good feelings, and soothe all kinds of upsets, and it is no wonder that our average weight keeps increasing.

When contemplating a class reunion, a quick weight-loss programs using drugs or special formulas may offer a temporary fix, but the weight will rise as soon as the person stops the program. These methods should be regarded temporary and are not recommended.

For optimal health and permanent weight loss, a change in eating habits is vital.

A realistic approach involves an acceptance that low-calorie, low-fat healthy food tastes good. You can develop a taste for steamed veggies and learn to discern the distinct flavor of each veggie, formerly disguised by a rich sauce. The amount of food can be reduced, too. Drink more water. At least eight glass fulls a day. Many people mistake thirst for hunger.

If serious about weight loss, one must accept the fact that a reasonable time for a ten percent reduction in body weight is six months. Be patient.

As a psychologist, I endorse programs that have a long history of success and that emphasize good eating habits. Such programs do not require purchase of their food or tablets. They also offer support from other members.

Many people need psychological help to confront the reasons for their recourse to food and to bring their consumption patterns into a saner balance. Some patients may simply need basic behavioral weight loss treatment while others suffering from depression and low self-esteem may require more specialized treatment.