The word “fat” became a little less taboo Wednesday when Alberta Health Services launched its new five-year obesity initiative along with promises to help Albertans manage their weight.
“We fat people count, too! We’re important and we too need help and deserve support,” said St. Albert resident Jim Starko, who was a guest speaker at the government’s news conference announcing its commitment to spend $10.9 million in the first year of the obesity initiative along with a further $4.9 million grant in the succeeding years.
“The initiative involves a comprehensive approach that recognizes the complexity of obesity prevention and management,” said Dr. Arya Sharma, medical director of the Obesity Initiative.
The funds will be used in a number of ways to support community-based programs, including school-based programs designed to address the rising rates of obesity among children.
In addition to prevention programs, there will be increased training for health-care providers. AHS will provide improved access to surgical solutions to weight loss, including bariatric surgery.
Obesity is a chronic disease that affects about one million Albertans and costs the health care system an estimated $1.4 billion per year, Sharma said.
It is a contributing factor for other diseases such as osteoarthritis, heart disease, strokes and Type 2 diabetes.
“Obesity causes more pain, more suffering than any other medical condition,” Sharma said, adding that an obesity program must also help patients keep the weight off.
“If simply losing weight by eating less and moving more worked as a treatment for obesity, we would not have this problem. I have yet to meet an obese patient, who has never lost weight before. Many have lost hundreds of pounds over their lifetime only to put them back on,” Sharma said.
Starko agreed and stressed the need for treatment not just during the weight-loss period but also as patients move forward with their lives.
The St. Albert businessman, and former city alderman, admitted to having gained and lost weight multiple times in his life. He became a patient at Sharma’s Weight Wise Clinic about a year ago, when he weighed 385 lbs.
Starko believes Sharma’s program saved his life. He was given nutritional advice from the St. Albert Primary Care Network. He joined a commercial weight loss program and started an exercise program that involved walking 10,000 steps per day. He no longer needs insulin or suffers from sleep apnea but he worries about the rebound effects and the ongoing support he will need to keep the weight off.
“The initiative is a great start but it must continue in future years because for all of us suffering with obesity, the daily struggle continues and ongoing support from our healthcare systems is critical to helping me to keep the weight off.”
