Obesity....A growing problem in Australia. Sharing my tips on this topic.

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One of the most important thing about obesity which most of us know but are not necessarily "conscious of" is that obesity is commonly just the tip of the iceberg for underlying issues of stress and "comfort" eating.  I often "see" in my practice that obesity is, most of the time a "symptom" of stress coupled with a culture of "comfort eating".  Educating patients on their diets may not be effective here but educating them about stress and its relationship to comfort eating may raise enough awareness to at least start a "change" and help them deal with the root problem which is STRESS.....  It is also hard for young kids to be immune to this "comfort eating" culture if it is very entrenched in the family culture.  Hence, obesity in childhood is also a growing problem in our society.

The same can be said about comfort smoking, comfort drinking, comfort TV, comfort facebook, comfort drugs, comfort gambling or comfort "anything", although comfort "exercise" is certainly encouraged.

A lot of chronic diseases in Australia such as diabetes, heart disease, fatty liver, and sleep apnea to name a few are more linked to stress than we think..........  Let's fix the problem at its root and not just the symptom.

You can read more tips on stress management, CBT, ACT, Parenting and Interpersonal Therapy principles on my mental health website epsychconnect.com.