Obesity, contributing factors and hypnotherapy

Obesity can be caused by biological factors such as genetic, neuro-chemical or endocrine anomalies. Most generally, however, obesity is caused by (over) eating: it occurs when we consume more energy than we expend and this imbalance is sustained for long periods of time. The excess energy is stored in the body as body fat and its gradual increase leads to overweight and further, to obesity. 

The eating behaviours mostly associated with overweight and obesity are over-eating, binge eating, bulimic symptoms, dieting, emotional eating and the consumption of unhealthy food.

The factors that lead to obesity spread across biological, psychological and social/cultural factors. Globalised media and sophisticated marketing campaigns tend to target the feminine body differently from the way they target the masculine. They promote a representation of the ideal feminine body as slim and accentuated with feminine features,  potentially driving appearance-conscious women to unattainable tasks. Body dissatisfaction and dieting have become the norm in our society and can potentially lead to serious illness, both physical and mental.

Two models of energy regulation suggest psychotherapeutic approaches that may respond well when enhanced with hypnosis.  

The set-point theory proclaims that we have evolved innate biological systems that regulate internal energy and these are set to a point that is optimal for our good health and survival. When our body indicates a decline of energy below the set point, feedback mechanisms trigger eating behaviours; we stop eating when our level of energy returns to the set point.

Our body weight would therefore remain relatively stable throughout our adult life, apart from a slight increase that is attributed to the asymmetry of our biological mechanisms, favouring the consumption and preservation of energy over its expenditure. Research shows that people tend to eat a small daily surplus of 10Kcal of energy, corresponding to an average weight gain of approximately 2.5Kg per decade and 10Kg in the average adult’s lifetime. This is an evolutionary advantage that has helped human survival throughout periods in history when food was scarce or unavailable. 

In our Western world, however, food is extensively available 24 hours a day, is highly palatable, ready to eat and in large portions. Psychological mechanisms now override the biological systems, and technological advances supporting a more sedentary lifestyle contribute to less expenditure of energy; what was an evolutionary advantage has turned into a serious problem. 

A second theory, the positive-incentive theory defends that the increase in obesity rates worldwide cannot be explained by a homeostatic point that is set to an optimal level. This theory proclaims that the energy resources of the body are programmed for a level that is much higher than those proclaimed in the previous theory. 

According to this theory, we have evolved to eat to our maximum physiological limits, whenever food is available. The triggers of hunger and eating behaviour are not related to a deficit in body energy but the positive-incentive value of food, the anticipated pleasure of eating. We will eat highly palatable foods to our limit when such foods are available because we have evolved to find pleasure in doing so.

The positive value of food is influenced by the anticipated taste that in nature would be associated with foods that promote human survival such as sweet, fatty and salty tastes. Satiety is influenced by two types of factors, one general: 1) as eating progresses all potential foods decline in their positive-incentive value, and one specific: 2) the specific food that is being consumed declines in its positive incentive value. The latter helps understand why individuals satiated with one food often will continue to eat when offered a different food. 

Both these theories accept that eating has a physical, soothing biological effect, that we eat more than what we need for our daily activity and we evolved to build up fat. They both also recognise that the social environment influences how much we eat and both highlight the importance of psychological and emotional factors. 

With hypnotherapy, we can work with the client to target individual mechanisms of reward and specific feel-good factors managed through food. We can work with each client to regulate emotions in a healthier and more effective way, to practice healthier eating behaviours and to explore more activities that promote personal growth and satisfaction.