When trying to lose weight, most people focus on two things: their nutrition and their activity levels. However, obesity medicine specialists and other health care providers are increasingly encouraging patients to also focus on shifting their perspective. Enter, therapy for weight loss.
Weight-loss facilities have added licensed clinical psychologists to their staffs to help men and women develop healthier thought patterns. Dedicated binge eating and emotional eating therapy practices have opened throughout the country. And the American Diabetes Association and the American Psychological Association recently partnered to build the ADA-APA Mental Health Provider Diabetes Education Program to teach mental health professionals how to best care for patients with diabetes.
The link between weight and mental health is a “chicken and egg” scenario, says Jennifer Shapiro, a licensed clinical psychologist and director of everyBody Behavioral Health, a San Diego-based psychology practice focused on helping people establish a healthy relationship with food and their bodies. “Many people who are overweight or obese also experience depression, low self-esteem, binge eating disorder and other psychological disorders,” Shapiro says.
Meanwhile, a 2012 report published in the International Journal of Obesity suggests that high-fat diets and their associated weight gain result in neurological changes that increase the risk of depression and, like drugs, can cause addictive behavior. Another threat to mental health in those who are overweight or obese is weight stigma, adds Dr. Jennifer C. Seger, an obesity medicine specialist at the Bariatric Medical Institute of Texas.
Many people who struggle with their weight also struggle with the mental implications of obesity-related conditions such as high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, poor mobility and Type 2 diabetes. For example, in the case of those with Type 2 diabetes, which affects more than 9 percent of Americans according to the American Diabetes Association, around-the-clock health needs can increase the risk of depression and anxiety, says Dr. William T. Cefalu, chief scientific, medical and mission officer for the American Diabetes Association.
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