There is no doubt that as a nation, the UK has a major problem with excess weight, with the problem being significant in Scotland as elsewhere.
All manner of health problems can arise from this, from diabetes to heart disease and strokes, musculoskeletal problems (such as osteoarthritis) due to excess weight being carried by your frame, high blood pressure, poor mental health and pregnancy complications, to name but some of the many issues you can face.
Quite apart from that, many people simply want to get a lot fitter, becoming more active and also feeling happier with their physical appearance. This motivation is particularly strong in summer because those who are happy with their appearance will be likely to show off more skin, especially at the beach, while sunny days are great for doing sport and hiking.
How Weight Loss Programmes Can Help
However, losing weight is not an easy or simple thing to do and attempting to do it all by yourself based on your personal efforts and motivation will be difficult. That is why coming to our weight loss clinic in Glasgow may make all the difference.
Our programmes can offer a lot of practical advice for planning and preparing meals, but also other help and information connected with exercise (to help you burn off more calories), supplements and even weight loss medication. The last of these can include injections aimed at burning fat.
Of course, every so often, politicians may instigate their own measures aimed at improving health through better diets. A decade ago, there was the soft drinks tax aimed at reducing sugar in fizzy drinks, and now the UK government has launched a new ‘healthy food standard’ as part of the new ten-year health plan for the NHS.
This involves a partnership between the government and the food retail and manufacturing sector to “make the healthy choice the easy choice,” with the aim being to ensure the typical basket of edible goods is healthier than before, with fewer calories.
Retailers will be able to decide for themselves how to do this, with possibilities including changing ingredients (as happened after the soft drink tax was introduced), changing store layouts, or having discount and reward packages aimed at encouraging more purchases of healthier options.
Government Action Alone Is Not Enough
However, even initiatives of this sort may not be enough. Assuming the Scottish NHS follows its English counterpart and embraces this plan fully alongside the retail and food manufacturing sector in Scotland, some people may benefit, but it is more likely they will do so if they have a clear plan for their diet, alongside other steps to get fitter.
Announcing the plan, health secretary Wes Streeting said the rate of obesity across the UK had doubled since 1990, but if everyone were to reduce 50 calories, this would reduce the number of obese people by two million, including 340,000 children.
That may be true, but for some, a reduction of a great deal more than 50 calories may be needed to make significant progress. That is why you should seek the help that is available to ensure that you make the most of the opportunity to lose weight, improve your health and feel happier with your appearance.