Of the 22,713 weight loss operations performed in 2014-15, about 90% were performed in private hospitals, highlighting the difficulty in accessing this type of surgery through the public system.
If you’ve ever tried to cut back on sugar, you may have realised how incredibly difficult it is. This leads to the question: can you be addicted to sugar?
Kenneth McLeod, Binghamton University, State University of New York
Weight loss often leads to declines in our resting metabolic rate – how many calories we burn at rest – which makes it hard to keep the weight off. So why does weight loss make resting metabolism go down?
Recent reports claiming we need to do five times more exercise than we previously thought are incorrect. Current physical activity guidelines are enough to achieve health benefits.
An individual’s weight is a complex and sensitive issue, which may be related to many factors that are not only medical but social, environmental and emotional.
A longitudinal study featuring nearly 74,000 US women has found that the longer a woman has been overweight or obese during her adult life, the higher her risk of developing cancer.
The government’s focus on treating chronic disease neglects the importance of obesity and the benefits of preventive health measures tailored to gender and socioeconomic circumstances.
Professor and Programme Director, SA MRC Centre for Health Economics and Decision Science - PRICELESS SA (Priority Cost Effective Lessons in Systems Strengthening South Africa), University of the Witwatersrand