A NEW WAY TO THINK ABOUT OBESITY: PROMOTE HEALING
Since entering the corporate wellness world around 2005, the largest driving forces in workplaces adopting a wellness initiative has been to manage costs around obesity-related factors and improve obesity rates. As two-thirds of America continues to be overweight or obese, we still have much work to do.
It seems the industry is well-aligned on the actual cost of obesity. Those who are overweight or obese:
Report decreased quality of life.
Are often navigating comorbidities.
Consume more healthcare services.
Experience poorer mental health outcomes.
Are at severely increased risk for all acute and chronic disease.
Source: Adult Obesity Causes & Consequences
Where the industry is a little less-aligned, is the solution. (And I’m not implying it’s an easy one.)
In my recent reading of the New York Times Bestseller, The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma, by Bessel van der Kolk, M.D., I found myself noting page-after-page of insights around past experiences, associated trauma, resulting behaviors and obesity.
Learn more about the book and the author here.
Some of my takeaways were as follows:
The author shared a pattern of morbidly obese patients reporting sexual abuse or other family problems as children.
High risk behaviors predicted by ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences) score include both smoking and obesity – two common behaviors targeted in the workplace.
Patients have reported that being overweight served a purpose for them – providing safety and security. These simple quotes say so much:
“Overweight is overlooked, and that’s the way I need to be.”
“It wasn’t that I ate because I was hungry … it was just a place for me to feel safe … all the way from kindergarten, I used to get beat up all the time. When I got the weight on it didn’t happen anymore.”
Trauma survivors look for ways to neutralize unwanted sensory experiences which can lead to self-numbing behaviors.
The author goes on to say, “They may become serially obese or anorexic or addicted to exercise or work. At least half of all traumatized people try to dull their intolerable inner world with drugs or alcohol.”
I share all of this because the obesity solution is complicated. It’s not just about knowing how to lose weight.
That said, I see so much opportunity to better support people – not just with fitness, nutrition and stress-busting – but by also making sure that mental health services are a significant part of the solution. Sure, maybe some people need to learn what to eat and how much to move, but others may need to HEAL.
Are you with me? Let’s create a movement around healing, healthy coping and reinstating hope. Let’s work to provide integrative, comprehensive care, while building one hell of a wellness toolkit. And perhaps most importantly, let’s handle people with care. This commitment is one of the founding principles of our mission here at Wellness Collective, and for that, I’m extremely proud.
Connect with us today if you’re ready to better support your teams in all ways: physically, mentally, emotionally and beyond.
Author: Katy Tombaugh