Worrying new research has unveiled that on average, Australian women alarmingly spend nearly 15 years of their lives dieting, with over a third experiencing negative emotions such as depression, anxiety, stress, and sadness in their pursuit of shedding weight.
This disheartening reality could be affecting the roughly 7,200 women living in the Parkes community. Health care professionals want to encourage women in the area to seek assistance on their weight loss journey and understand they don’t have to do it alone.
Endocrinologist, Dr. Ramy Bishay says “Far too often obesity is considered a lifestyle condition, but this report demonstrates that the ‘eat less, move more’ mantra is failing women. We simply can’t expect women to undue thousands of years of adaptation to starvation, in a matter of weeks or months by ‘eating less and moving more’.”
Additionally, Parkes currently falls within Australia’s Distribution Priority Area catchment, which identifies locations in Australia with a shortage of medical practitioners. This is a concern for locals that need to consult a healthcare professional as they embark on their weight loss journey with shortages potentially causing longer wait times for healthcare appointments.