Small steps to a healthier life – Parish Magazine article Nov 2017
Losing weight is one of the hardest challenges humans can set themselves. This is because our very basic hard wiring is working against us in these situations. The extremely strong internal mechanisms we have developed over thousands of years in order to survive in a harsh world now operate to inhibit our attempts to help ourselves in a provision rich environment. Humans evolved in small groups with the aim of scavenging for food. It was not plentiful and when you can only manage to eat one or two substantial meals a week it makes sense to store some of the calories you ingest. Homo-sapiens developed a very efficient high calorie storage system: fat. This could be deposited around the body and then utilized when required to provide the energy needed for long treks across the savannah. Food was less complex; as nowadays we needed a balanced diet however most components came from separate sources. Feel good hormones were released to reward and so motivate Stone Age humans to seek out each component. Even though combination of sugars and fats are now easily picked from the supermarket shelf the internal neurological buzz from eating them persists.
However it is the history and physiology of our evolutionary development that gives us the key as to how to best tackle the challenge of lowering our weight and keeping it there. Slow burn of calories by walking, like our ancestors had to do to survive, is the best way of burning off fat. Working in small groups to support one another was also a major survival tool from long ago and this is why motivation from weight loss teams is so powerful.
Recently Devon County Council have set up a central service to help patients lose weight under one umbrella organization called One Small Step. This can be accessed directly on line at www.onesmallstep.org.uk or via the telephone on 01392 908139. Monday morning Keep Fit classes in the Silverton Community Hall are another option available to patients as they combine these important factors; group support and regular low grade burning of calories.
I regularly see patients who have recently lost significant weight. Congratulations are always in order as I know the effort immense effort required to achieve it. Evidence shows that GPs nagging our patients is not effective. It is much more powerful for us to keep gently nudging patients towards helpful groups and activities. So hence this article, another gentle push to start the first step towards walking that little bit more every day. Small steps when added together will produce a worthwhile journey.
Anthony O’Brien (GP, Wyndham House Surgery) Nov 2017
Trench welfare – Parish Magazine article Dec 2017
My son has just come back from a school visit to the First World War battlefields in Belgium. He learnt about what happened on the first Christmas Day when British and German soldiers along many parts of the battle line left their positions and entered No-mans land together. They played football, shared drinks and socialized. Following this remarkable event unfortunately they then returned to their trenches and recommenced the fighting.
Despite the disappointing ending, the story is a mark of the power and opportunities that Christmas brings. It is a time when we can all reach out, change engrained behaviours, look to foster new friendships and/or patch up older relationships where required. There is now a lot of evidence about the enormous health benefits of using coordinated social networks in communities. The knowledge that someone is there and can be approached if needed is very powerful. Our Bertie delivery service is a great link between the surgery and our less mobile patients. As well as delivering medication it also offers that regular contact, a reference point in a patient’s week when they know someone will be knocking on their door – it can be more therapeutic than the actual medication being delivered. The same can be said of good neighbours and strong communities. Knowing that help is only a knock on the door or a quick phone call away relieves a lot of otherwise very understandable anxiety for the vulnerable, the elderly and those living on their own. Often we think we know who these people might be however that is not always the case.
Social events at Christmas give us all the chance to get out of any trenches we might have found ourselves in and hopefully give a leg up to others who find it more difficult to get up and out. The Friends of Wyndham House coordinate a group of volunteers to help reach out to anyone who might benefit from a hand to reintroduce themselves into the community. We are very fortunate in having many social activities on offer in our villages from walking & talking though to knitting and quilting. If during the festive season you think that yourself, a friend or someone you reconnect with might benefit from some help to link them back into some regular social contacts then please contact the Friends via the surgery so we can pass on the details to the coordinator.
Wyndham House wishes everyone a happy, peaceful and sociable Christmas.
Anthony O’Brien, GP Wyndham House Surgery Dec 2017
