BALANCE_WINTER_2024 - 40

PROMOTION
This article has been developed and paid for by Lilly and authored by Lara Kilner
'I've accepted my body
- now I want others to
stop self-shaming'
Sarah Le Brocq, 42, runs
the advocacy organisation
All About Obesity. She's on a
mission to have obesity
accepted as a disease and to
end the stigma that surrounds it
T
hroughout my life I've struggled
with my weight. Even as a child I
was conscious of living in a larger
body. By the time I went off to
university, I was a size 20.
" I tried every diet and exercise plan. Nothing
worked, until I took part in a Sky Living TV
show called Fat: The Fight of My Life. I lost
eight-and-a-half stone and completed a
triathlon. But over the next couple of years,
even though I was still doing triathlons, the
weight came back. I wanted to find out why.
PANIC-MODE CRAVINGS
" I began looking into the science of obesity and
read a study by Dr Kevin Hall. He'd worked
with people on an American reality series -
The Biggest Loser. Within six years they'd all
regained the weight that they'd lost.
" Dr Hall talked about metabolic adaptation
and set point theory. The human body has a
predetermined weight range. When you lose a
significant amount of weight, it goes into panic
mode, making you crave certain foods, or feel
cold so that you eat to get warm.
" It was a light-bulb moment: obesity is a
chronic health condition. I realised that my
weight isn't my fault.
" I now work with academics and
professionals, including the pharmaceutical
company Lilly, to help other people who are
MY STORY
From weight
struggles to
self-acceptance
living with obesity to stop shaming and
blaming themselves.
" People are finally seeing obesity as a
I was aware of my
size in childhood
long-term, relapsing condition. The stigma
still exists though - society's messaging
pushes the myth that people with obesity
just need to eat less and move more. What
other chronic condition do you hear people
talking so negatively about?
I tried diets and
exercise plans
My weight loss
was short lived
Understanding the
science changed
everything
HEALTHIEST VERSION
" Medical care for obesity has got better.
There are now treatment options, as well as
NHS programmes and apps that can give
advice and support for healthy lifestyles.
But it's quite difficult to get an obesity
referral on the NHS - something I am
campaigning to change.
" Obesity is not a choice. I didn't choose
my genetic makeup. All I can do is work
with it and become the healthiest version of
myself that I can be. I'll never look like Kate
Moss and I've finally accepted this.
" We make a lot of assumptions when we
see an obese person, but we know nothing
about that person. Shaming people for their
weight is not going to help them - people
living with obesity need support, not shame
and blame. "
To find out more, visit Lilly UK's Reframe
Obesity page: lillyreframeobesity.co.uk
Now I help others
understand that
obesity is a health
condition
http://lillyreframeobesity.co.uk
BALANCE_WINTER_2024

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