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Suggest Treatment For Obesity Caused By Overeating

Posted on Wed, 9 Apr 2014

Question: My 32 yr old daughter has an overeating disorder and is at rock bottom. She has gained 30 lbs in the last 3 months, and has a very stressful job, lives across the country from her family and broke off a 9 month relationship with a boyfriend that she thought was the one. She is very lonely and depressed. She has done everything to get herself well. She sees a therapist on a regular basis, has gone to many retreats, joined groups for overeating that meet often, checked herself into centers where you spend evenings with others having dinner and therapy sessions several times a week, but that doesn't work for her because she is grouped with mostly teenagers who are anorexic (sp) and pregnant. She goes to overeaters anonymos. She has spent a lot of money seeing doctors who have told her all her hormones are out of wack and sell her supplements that they say will help! She knows everything she wants and should be doing, but can't get out of her own way. The only thing she can focus on is how fat she is, and her main objective is to lose weight, yet she can't stop eating. She has a very good job and is very succesful, but not the kind of job that she can leave for any amount of time so she won't even consider checking into some place for a while, yet I don't even know where that would be and would like to know what to do. Most of all she is suffering, and I need some advice on how to find her help that will really help her. I worry she is going to hurt herself as she always tells me she is eating herself to death. Can you help give me some direction? I don't know what type of physican or specialist she needs.

Answered by Dr. Divya Kuttikrishnan (2 hours later)

Brief Answer: ..... Detailed Answer: Hi there.... I understand your concern for your daughter . She is eating her way to poor health, as overeating and obesity can lead to multiple health problems including diabetes, heart disease etc.... The list goes on and on... I would advise her to do regular exercise 30 minutes a day 5 days a week. Exercise releases a lot of endorphins, which will make her feel good and energetic. And it will eventually lead to weight loss, but it should be a gradual process. You cannot acheive weight loss overnight. Set small short term goals which are easy to achieve. To get her motivated , get a personal trainer to help her out at the gym. Or she can join aerobics with a group of friends. Sign up for yoga classes or relaxation classes.It will help her relax and make her feel better.It is good for treating depression as well. Read a lot of inspirational and motivational books( eg. XXXXXXX Sharma) or autobiographies. Listen to good music (eg Pharell XXXXXXX ..... HAPPY) or any music or songs she enjoys. Everytime she feels like overeating let her reach out for a fruit or salad . At least, it is healthy. Let her try to stick to 3 healthy meals and 3 healthy snacks a day. A snack could be fruit, salad, or low fat yoghurt etc. Another think to do is drink warm water at regular intervals. Warm water aids in good digestion. She needs to visit a physician and if necessary an endocrinologist , to make sure there are no medical causes like thyroid disorders, diabetes etc. If there are no medical causes, she needs to visit a psychiatrist, who might be able to help her. Also, joining support groups is a good thing... I see that she is already doing all that. Please be patient and encourage and appreciate her for every small achievement. Hope she feels good and active soon. Regards, Dr. Divya Kuttikrishann

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar