Increasingly, it's a subject one can't avoid or ignore, it's everywhere, it's global. In the news, on the streets - it's 'in your face'. Unfortunately more than in the face but all over the body, all 30, 40, 50, 60 (and more!) stones or 420, 560, 700, 840 lbs, or 191, 255, 318, 382 kgs - take your pick!
I constantly wonder how people get to this serious condition, and I'm sure there's more to it than just gluttony or food craving. Sure, it doesn't happen overnight, but it does remind me of another condition that affects so many people with ailments of one kind or another - drug addiction, and not for recreation purposes either but to help ease pain, sleep, anxiety and hosts of other normal ailments that, over time get out of hand with not just drug dependence, but accompanied by the need for even more of the drug just to maintain the status quo.
In fact many drugs don't even do that because once the body/brain has got used to addictive drugs they lose the ability they first had, with the body demanding yet more without giving any more benefit.
It's a losing battle.
I am fortunately neither overweight nor obese, but technically I am a drug addict, using a regulated drug that over the years lost its use as a sleep aid but left me feeling the real need for more. Not getting any more left my sleep in chaos, but left me still dependent on the wretched drug.
I can't afford to be smug, as the way out of this dilemma that I have found is looking really good, as after only two months of a new treatment (new to me) has vastly improved my sleep, from 2-3 hours to now 6-7 hours, even giving me the confidence to start tapering off the drug - very slowly - and over the coming months to eliminate my dependence on it. That's my desperate hope, but it's looking good because the greatly improved sleep and my very slow tapering method has allowed me to reduce the drug by 20% so far (2 months) without any side effects.
So how is this drug habit related to O & O you may be asking? Well, for a start, my comparison with how drug addiction begins innocently enough, slowly building up to dependence and eventually getting out of control. Obesity doesn't suddenly happen, it starts with overweight and gradually carries on from there. And what is 'overweight'? It's not quantified nor qualified by BMI, although there are obvious comparisons. Does one pound over my defined BMI calculation make me overweight? or 2 lbs? Of course not, but that can be the thin end of the wedge for some, so that before long it could certainly lead to being overweight if not monitored and dealt with.
Now here is where I'm going to stick my neck out and put forward an idea I came across, funnily enough (no, it's not actually funny) while researching for an alternative to my sleeping problem.
What I haven't revealed to you is how did I achieve that. Well first with an awful lot of online research, which led me to how the body operates at different levels, largely through its complex system of neurotransmitters. These are fed by a small number of amino acids (9 or thereabouts I think, I'm not a medical expert, just quoting from memory what I have read). Among these amino acids is one called serotonin, and it is a key amino acid having the role of not only operating in its own brain area but of collaborating with/regulating the remaining amino acids.
Some of you reading this may have heard of serotonin, or know that it has a strong influence on sleep. A Google search will provide you with as much knowledge as I have found, which I suggest you do anyway.
Once I had a grasp of this I looked for how to get some of it, on the basis that if I increase my serotonin level, it might help me sleep better without taking other drugs.
There is an African shrub - Griffonia Simpliconia - whose seeds produce an ingredient known as 5-HTP (5-hydroxytryptophan) that, when taken as a supplement, produces serotonin that gets into the brain. It overcomes the problem of eating foods that contain tryptophan, which gets converted to serotonin but almost all of this ends up in the gut.
Taking the recommended night time dose of 2 x 100 mgs 5-HTP did just that for me, greatly improving sleep, as well as mood, confidence, and a lot more that I hadn't even been looking for, but have been very welcome bonuses.
Is that the end of my story? Not quite, in fact it takes me back to the beginning, because as I said earlier (funnily enough) 5-HTP has also been tested and found very beneficial towards helping weight reduction, especially if combined with an appropriate diet. Double blind tests (described as the 'gold standard' as far as tests are concerned) found impressive results reducing weight among groups of overweight women, and men, although less men were tested.
How does it do this? It's not a diet pill, but via the body's neurotransmitter system which controls mood and other mind matters, it helps suppress appetite, particularly on weight increasing carbs like sugar. It produces a sense of fullness or satiety. As simple as that.
Now I am not suggesting that 5-HTP is the panacea for either O or O, but could it be the start of something good for some willing to try it?
I began this as a discussion, and that's all my input is meant for. Why not do some research of your own, Google serotonin or 5-HTP. Ignore the ads, look for unbiased information, research papers. By all means look at some of the many user reviews of 5-HTP which is readily available to buy and is not expensive by any means, but try to draw your own conclusions.
Could 5-HTP be the opposite thin end of the wedge to help some O & O folk slowly but steadily win their 'battle of the bulge'? I really don't know, but if it does for them what it did for me and my sleep - they won't regret trying.
Most, sadly not all, problems have a solution. The trick is finding the right one. It has taken me years to find my right solution, so perhaps what I've written here may help some towards a quicker solution finding theirs. Here's hoping!!!