... manila bulletin: weighing in on obesity (life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, clinical psychologist, psychiatrist, osteopath, quezon city, manila, philippines)

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Weighing in on obesity

By Randy Dellosa, MD

Published: May 14, 2013

People have both positive and 
negative impressions of obese 
people. On the positive side, obese 
people are considered jolly, cute 
and huggable, or wealthy. On the 
negative side, obese people are 
treated as the butt of jokes, 
perceived as slow and lazy, and 
at worst, considered to be lacking 
in self-control and discipline. 

Some obese people are triggered to 

eat by positive emotions such as 

when they feel happy, when they 

want to celebrate or reward 

themselves, when they relax in front 

of the TV set or computer, or when 

they socialize.  Others are triggered 

to eat by negative emotions such as 

boredom, sadness, loneliness, worry, 

anger, frustration, or stress.  
Whatever the emotional state obese 
people are in, most will admit that 
they binge because they enjoy the 
taste of food and the sensation of 
having a mouthful of food.

Obese people go through a vicious 

cycle of comfort eating. Whenever 

they feel bad, obese people comfort 

or distract themselves by eating 

food.  This makes them gain more 

weight, thus adding to the original 

frustration, self-disgust, or 

disappointment. Feeling emotionally 

worse perpetuates the never-ending 

cycles of comfort eating.  When 

comfort eating becomes automatic 

and repetitive behaviour, it turns into 

what is known as ‘mindless’ eating.  

Obese people are generally self-

conscious, especially of their tummy, 

thighs, neck and chin.  Many obese 

people have poor body image and 

thus suffer from low self-esteem, 

self-disgust, or even self-hatred. 

Obese people are also prone to major 

depression, anxiety disorders, abuse 

of substances that increase 
metabolism such as diuretics or 
laxatives, and bulimia nervosa 
wherein they purge what they’ve 
just eaten. 

Practically all aspects of life are 

affected by their obesity. For 
instance, they may suffer 
discrimination at work. They can’t 
enjoy or engage in activities which 
most people take for granted such 
as riding jeepneys or buses, 
entering small comfort room 
cubicles, going to movies, or buying 

clothes off the rack). Obese people 
who are single get worried that they 
might not be able to find a lifetime 
partner. And for the obese people 
who are in relationship, even their 
sex lives suffer. For instance, they 
are afraid that they might crush or 

suffocate their partner during their 
intimate moment, that they can’t 
perform the sexual acrobatics which 
slimmer people enjoy, or that they 
might kill the sex urge of their 
partner as soon as they get naked.

Short of bariatric surgery and fad 

diets, what obese people need is a 

well-thought-out strategic plan.  

Obese people must first of all 

identify their specific foods of 

abuse.  Contrary to popular belief, 

it’s not junk food that is the primary 

culprit for obesity but delicious 

viands (e.g., kaldereta, kare-kare, 

crispy pata, lechon, fried chicken 

with gravy, etc.) which makes 

Filipinos eat tons of rice.  These 

foods of abuse must be avoided 

at all cost. Obese people must 

also identify the situations (family 

gatherings, socials, watching TV, 

etc.) and the time of day (big 

breakfast or lunch, the midnight 

meal) that make them vulnerable 

to overeating.  And lastly, they 

need to correct the attitudes that 

promote overeating (e.g. ‘I must 

eat all the left-over food of my 

family and friends because people 

in Africa are dying of starvation.’)

Here’s a useful tip for you:  When 

you feel like eating when you 

shouldn’t, just drink cold water, 

or suck on strongly mentholated 

sugarless candy, or try extra 

strong Fisherman’s Wharf lozenges.  

These will surely eradicate your 

craving for food.

When it comes to issues of weight, 

the lesson here is this:  Rather than 

be plainly slim or thin, the greater 

goal for obese and non-obese 

people alike is to be healthy in 

body, mind, emotions, and spirit!

Holistic Healing for You

Randy Dellosa, MD

Dr. Randy Dellosa, popularly known as Doc
Randy, is known as the life coach-psychotherapist
of Filipino celebrities. He is reputed to be the first
and so far the only Filipino who is both a
psychiatrist (M.D.) and a doctor of clinical
psychology (Psy.D.)