We spoke to Supersize Vs Superskinny Dietician Ursula Philpot to ask her about her work on the show.
What is your background?
I trained as a dietitian by completing a post graduate diploma in Nutrition & Dietetics. At Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust I worked in a variety of roles before specialising in eating disorders and weight management. I then worked for the Retreat Hospital in York and the Yorkshire Centre for Eating Disorders. I am now a senior lecturer at Leeds Metropolitan University, and also run my own private practice and chair the British Dietetic Association's Mental Health Group. I have authored book chapters about mental health and nutrition, and have co-authored a variety of dietetic publications.
How important is healthy eating?
Evidence from studies tells us that healthy eating can make a big difference to everyone. It affects all aspects of a person - IQ, energy levels, sports performance - and even prevents disease such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes. There is also increasing evidence to support a strong connection between physical and psychological health, and good nutrition can have an impact on areas such as depression and anxiety.
Why do you think obesity is on the rise in the UK?
Obesity and eating disorders are increasing due to a range of factors. One of the chief reasons is that high calorie food and drink is more widely available than ever. Food outlets selling snacks and drinks are everywhere, and food is easily available 24 hours a day. Highly palatable foods that are quick and convenient - such as ready meals, crisps, chocolate and pizzas - have taken over from home prepared meals and snacks, to fit with our busy lifestyles. Nowadays, food also has more of a social focus; we order takeaways or go for coffee as a way to socialise. Both of these changes to the way we eat seem to be linked to increased obesity rates and eating disorders.
What is the most common problem you come across?
The most common problem I come across is yoyo dieting - a pattern of dieting behaviour that typically leads to either semi-starvation symptoms and/or overeating. Many people (especially women) try to actively restrict calories and fat in order to control their weight, but end up on boring, repetitive diets that are far too low in fat, don't fill them up and leave them feeling unwell (cold, tired, hungry, depressed, anxious). This can then lead them to indulge in periods of overeating. Over time, this leads to patterns of restricting and overeating, which metabolically drives fat storage and promotes weight gain. This is easily rectified by stopping these extreme dieting behaviours and increasing fat content of the diet.
What is the best piece of advice you can give to someone who wants to eat healthily?
The best piece of advice I can give is to dump the diet books and women's magazines; don't buy too many low fat products, and stop dieting. Instead concentrate on eating little and often, choosing high quality foods that include a little bit of everything you like. Start thinking about health - eating small amounts of fresh, good quality meat and fish, getting your 5-a-day fruit and veg, and including healthy fats (nuts, avocado, oily fish, live oil). Eat enough to keep you feeling well, and aim to include wholegrains such as oats. A healthy diet can Include small amounts of homemade sweet treats, or high quality chocolate, but try to keep off takeaways and processed food such as burgers. It's not about good and bad foods - only good and bad diets. Everything is allowed in moderation.
Do you keep in touch with any of the contributors?
I do keep in touch with contributors, and will hear from them from time to time. It's always nice to hear how they are doing. Like many patients, they focus on their problems for a time and make significant changes, and then may choose to spend time on improving other areas of their lives - so recovery goes in fits and starts. It's great to see changes people have made, or gains they have achieved through improving their eating.
Do you think if we added a healthy eating module to the national curriculum things might improve in the nation's health?
I think it may make some difference, but only if it included a real practical focus on skills in meal planning and cooking. This would also have to be extended to a whole family approach - if healthy eating is not practised at home as well as school it's unlikely to result in success. Education alone won't change behaviour - most people know they should eat more fruit and vegetables, but few do it! Big improvements also need to be made to the general environment to promote activity, reduce takeaway outlets and give greater access to healthier foods.
What are your hopes for the future in terms of the nation's health?
I hope we can help shape public policy to drive improvements to everyone's health: providing better access to healthy foods, limiting access to poor quality food outlets, improving the nation's meal planning and cooking skills, and delivering more education around the dangers of dieting and weight control. Positive campaigns such as Jamie's Ministry of food really do a lot to help raise the profile of healthy eating.
