OBESITY: WHY THE WEIGHT?
Obesity in Scotland has trebled in the past thirty years and further increases are predicted. What role can community pharmacy play in addressing this issue?
T
here’s no doubt that being confined to the house for long periods of time during the pandemic has had a major impact on
many people’s waistlines, but a staggering one million people across the United Kingdom were actually admitted to hospital in the year before the pandemic due to obesity!
Obesity is a major problem throughout the UK, but is particularly prevalent in Scotland, where obesity shows a strong link with inequalities and where lower socio-economic status is often associated with higher levels of obesity.
It’s estimated, in fact, that two in every three adults in Scotland (65 per cent) are overweight, which means that people of normal weight in Scotland are now in the minority!
Over the next few months, community pharmacists across the province will be asked to provide weight loss information, support and products, and with obesity estimated to affect
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around one in every four adults and – even more alarmingly – one in every five children aged between two and fifteen, that support and information will never be in greater demand.
So how can you, as a pharmacist, help patients with weight loss?
There is plenty of anecdotal evidence of success in pharmacy weight management services, but a 2013 study of the Counterweight weight management programme was able to offer up statistics, which showed how successful such programmes could be. The study showed that, where pharmacy was used as one treatment arm in a randomised, controlled trial comparing a range of weight reduction programmes, fourteen per cent of pharmacy participants lost at least five per cent of their initial weight.
To increase the health and wellbeing of patients, who are considered overweight or obese, the primary objective is obviously to
encourage healthy lifestyles, while providing patient care services.
To achieve this, you should: • Identify local services or groups that could be included in the local obesity pathway, such as walking groups
• Offer a weekly one-to-one session, where you weigh the patient and offer advice and information
• Discuss the patient’s diet and lifestyle and talk to them about the ingredients of their food, with particular reference to their sugar and refined carbohydrate intake
• Emphasise the importance of exercise for health and wellbeing, but remain mindful that their level of obesity may preclude them from excessive activity. Even walking can be a good start to their weight management programme
• Be aware of the stigma that adults who are overweight or obese may feel or experience and, as such, ensure the tone of all communication is respectful and non-judgemental
IT’S ESTIMATED THAT TWO IN EVERY THREE ADULTS IN SCOTLAND ARE OVERWEIGHT
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