Samra Abouchacra
University of Toronto Medical School, Canada
Title: The Obesity epidemic and eating behaviour: Are diets the answer?
Biography
Biography: Samra Abouchacra
Abstract
Obesity is the largest man-made epidemic and is the single most important contributor to metabolic syndrome and type II diabetes. Weight loss is of proven effectiveness in controlling or even reversing these metabolic abnormalities. However, the achievement and sustainability of weight loss continues to be extremely challenging. It has been shown that despite the availability of myriads of diets, patients invariably regain the weight they lost and rebound beyond. Furthermore, attributing overweight primarily to an imbalance between energy intake and expenditure is over simplistic, as there are many factors affecting food ingestion behaviour that seriously interfere with weight control. This lecture will explore eating patterns and dietary habits in overweight and obese persons as well as external influences promoting overconsumption. These eating practices may be key elements in sabotaging weight loss and maintenance efforts and may present potential areas for intervention through behaviour modification.
