Dear friend, dear friend,
INSERM, the National Institute of Health and Medical Research, published worrying figures on February 23 concerning obesity and overweight in France.(1).
Obesity and overweight have been on the rise since 1975(1).
The number of obese has even tripled over the period(1).
Unfortunately, obesity comes with an increased risk of(1) :
- cancer (endometrium, breast, ovaries, prostate, liver, kidney, colon, etc.);
- cardiovascular illnesses,
- type II diabetes;
- various infections including covid-19.
INSERM has compiled data from a series of surveys conducted between 1997 and 2020 on nearly 10,000 people.
It appears that, in France(1) :
- 47% of adults are obese or overweight;
- 17% of adults would be obese whereas it was 8% in 1997;
- 57% of people over 65 are affected by excess weight;
- 23% of 18 to 24 year olds are overweight or obese;
- Men are more often overweight than women.
What is obesity?
It is an excess of fat mass which is calculated from the body mass index (BMI)(2).
It is calculated using the following formula: BMI = weight in kg/height² (in m)
If you weigh 65 kg for 1.70 m it gives:
65/(1,7²) = 22,49
If your BMI is less than 18.5 it is considered insufficient. Above 25 you are overweight.
Obesity is characterized above a BMI of 30.
However, a distinction must be made between obesity and overweight.
Obesity is a pathology that requires active medical support, particularly in terms of the heart.
Being overweight is a risk. It can be linked to a dysfunction of the metabolism or the sign of an unsuitable lifestyle.
Some people are also naturally overweight. In this case, what counts, more than the BMI, is the stability of this weight.
We can live all our life and very old in slightly overweight!
Pasta, sugar and pesticides…
There are undoubtedly several reasons for the constant increase in overweight and obesity in France and elsewhere, even in Japan, long spared from this scourge.(3).
For the WHO, the main cause of the increase in overweight in the world is the difference between the amount of energy consumed and that expended(4).
This is linked to the degradation of the way of life, and in the first place of the diet.
In France, little by little, without our noticing it, we left a traditional diet more or less of the Mediterranean type to adopt an industrial diet.(5).
It consists of fast food, sandwiches, fries, white flour, pasta, pizza, ready meals, cookies, pastries, etc.
These are empty calories, without nutrients that help the body function.
Only 54% of French people continue to eat vegetables every day(5).
On the other hand, the quantity of vegetables consumed would have increased, in particular the share of organic vegetables.
Clearly, there is a split in society: those who eat vegetables seem to eat more and of better quality, while the others eat more industrial starches.
And in fact, the consumption of starches increased by 16% between 2007 and 2017(6).
In addition, sugar consumption has also increased considerably. And this phenomenon has been further accentuated with the health crisis(7).
Total screen and sedentary lifestyle
The other major development factor over the past 30 years is the massive arrival of screens in all homes.
In France, households have 5 or 6 minimum(8).
77% of adults spend too much time behind their screens(8).
This had a dreadful effect on:
- sedentary lifestyle: it is the fact of being seated more or less all day, which increases the risk of heart disease and cancer(9) ;
- stress that is both nervous and physical(10) ;
- the decrease in sleep: the less you sleep, the more you get fat and it’s science that says it(11) !
How to fight against overweight and obesity?
I have come across a number of therapists over the past few years who offer different, yet complementary, angles for tackling excess weight.
If you’re reading this letter, chances are you’re already paying attention to your diet.
The problem, if it exists, may therefore be elsewhere…
If you ask Dr. Panizza, nutritionist, what is the main difficulty in losing weight, he will undoubtedly answer you that it is a metabolic problem: patients cannot burn enough calories(12).
Dr. Delabos, expert in chrononutrition, could answer you that the problem is to consume the right food at the right time and in the right way.(13).
He believes, for example, that soups in the evening are not ideal.
Indeed, mixed vegetables release toxins. Except the toxins lodge in the fat.
During the day, it’s not a problem, you have time to eliminate them.
In the evening it is another matter, because you are sleeping and there is a risk that the undigested toxins from dinner will make you fat.
Dr. Donatini, a gastroenterologist, believes treating viruses is important. This is done with the help of a therapist(14).
It also insists on emptying the stomach(14).
Bénédicte Van Craynest, nutritionist, often reminds us during her conferences that we should not underestimate the importance of vegetables and fibers to be consumed even at breakfast.(15) !
Still others might point to hormones or stress that have a strong impact on weight gain.
Which action to choose first?
Sometimes the hardest part is getting started.
In my opinion, one of the most obvious and helpful things to change in your lifestyle is to add some movement.
This can be exercises in the morning when you get up or daily walking time, for example, before and after lunch, both of which are very useful(15).
Walking or doing physical exercises has many advantages: it allows you to have a mechanical action on digestion. Your steps or exercises will help empty your stomach.
It will also force you to breathe and use your muscles.
This time for you is finally an opportunity to put some of your stress aside.
The 6,000 or 10,000 steps you take a day have a powerful effect on your health and weight gain.
Reducing stress: a priority for everyone!
As we know, the mental workload can sometimes be very high for some people, especially women who have so many things to manage at the same time.(16).
But stress makes you fat(17).
It also leads to harmful behaviors for health which are difficult to fight.
The consumption of alcohol, drugs, sweets, cravings, long television sessions, all of this comes from stress.
Which strategy to adopt is up to you.
Very generally, anything that can have a soothing effect on the vagus nerve is good to take: singing, games evenings, contact with the earth or with trees, psychological support, group therapy, breathing exercises(10).
Dr. Pascal Sacré, for example, suggests a very simple exercise: before going to bed, when you sit on the bed, you can put one hand on your stomach and one hand on your plexus.
Do this for a few moments. This should have a calming effect.
Turn off screens as much as possible, read books or paper magazines.
Once you have lowered the stress level, you can move on to the third step: eat vegetables morning, noon and night.
But I will detail that in a future letter.
Naturally yours,
Augustine of Livois