HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

BACKGROUND

Worldwide obesity is now growing at an alarming rate. Cyprus is now not exempt from this problem. Every year a larger percent of the population are becoming obese, particularly children. With it comes the risk of heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. This places a huge burden on the health service for the treatment of these medical conditions.

Much of this phenomenon is due to the adoption of the western diet of fast food and the intake of unhealthy saturated fat. There is no evidence that the trend will change, as lifestyles become more pressurised and multi-national fast food outlets take over our high streets.

The Cambridge Diet was developed by Dr Alan N Howard of Cambridge University 20 years ago, to help combat these health risks. He devised a healthy meal replacement programme which enabled the body to enter into a state of ketosis thereby burning the body's fat stores for energy, assisting in rapid weight loss. He also introduced the role of the counsellor. A counsellor is supplies the diet and is trained to carry out a medical assessment on the dieter to ensure they are healthy. Any medical condition requires the signature of a doctor before embarking on the diet. Every week the counsellor monitors the client and provides support, encouragement and guidance. On reaching target they take the client through a stabilisation programme to promote healthy eating and successful weight management.

THE ROLE OF THE HEALTH PROFESSIONAL

Today, doctors, dieticians and counsellors provide this service worldwide. The Cambridge diet can assist in preparation for surgery as a rapid weight loss tool. Obesity clinics can either supply the diet to patients or refer them to an approved dietician or counsellor to assist them in losing and managing their weight.

There are five programmes available to the patient. The choice of programme is dependent on the health and needs of the individual. Only one programme consists of meal replacements. The Cambridge Diet is so healthy that no additional nutrition is required. Each meal provides one third of a person's daily nutritional requirements. No vitamin supplements are required. Also, clients follow four stages of a stabilisation programme to help educate them in healthy eating after completing the diet.

RECOMMENDED BY THE EXPERTS

The UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), published only in December 2006 it's 'Guidance on Obesity' and acknowledged the place of very low calorie diets as a valid treatment option to combat obesity. The British Dietetic Association (BDA) names only the Cambridge Health and Weight Plan (Cambridge Diet) because it offers a range of weight loss programmes.

The BDA notes that 'the programmes are provided with written information which gives detailed instructions about which foods to include on different plan options and recipe ideas' and that 'customers are offered support from specially-trained counsellors throughout all stages of weight care and weight maintenance.'

Dr Anthony R Leeds MB BS MSc CBiol FIBiol RNutr Senior Lecturer in Nutrition and Dietetics at Kings College recommends that a full range of dietary options should be considered including Very Low Calorie Diets especially where more rapid weight loss is needed.

Dr Leeds was chairman of the Royal Society of Medicine's Forum on Food and Health for ten years from 1990. His current research interests concern complex carbohydrates in relation to metabolic and physiological responses in diabetes, hyperlipidaemias, obesity and syndrome X., anthropometric assessment methods and interactions between dietary carbohydrate and chromium status. Most experimental work is done in the form of clinical trials. His clinical responsibilities include hyperlipidaemias, obesity and diabetes.