Why diet and fitness don’t beat obesity

HEALTH experts have reacted angrily after a psychiatrist claimed obesity cannot be beaten by eating less and exercising more.

A balanced diet and physical activity has long been standard advice for couch potatoes to beat the bulge.

But US psychiatrist Dr Christopher Ochner says there is little people can do to shift excess fat as obesity is an in- built disorder.

He claims reducing calories only triggers a need to gorge on high- calorie foods and it is expensive gastric bypass operations that reduce weight.

Chronic

But Tam Fry, of British charity the National Obesity Forum, said: “The paper needs re- reading a few times to realise it’s some psychiatrist’s rubbish.”

And obesity expert and family GP Dr Ian Campbell said: “There is no doubt, scientifically, the only way to lose weight is to eat less and move more.

“The argument falls down by advocating better drug and surgical treatments instead of behaviour change.”

Writing in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, Dr Ochner, of New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital, said: “Obesity should be recognised as a chronic and often treatment- resistant disease with both biological and behavioural causes that require a range of medical interventions such as pharmacotherapy or surgery, as well as lifestyle modification.”