Usually, when a word is abbreviated to only its first letter, it’s a curse word. “Watchful” and “waiting” are not generally considered to be vulgar expletives, but in this context, they might as well be.
Every year, it becomes more obvious that, in the struggle against epidemic obesity, “watchful waiting” is not a strategy likely to prevail. It has become obvious that the earlier someone enters the “overweight” category, the more time they are liable to spend there. The more years a person remains overweight, the more likely they are to occupy that demographic throughout life.
Watchfulness alone is not such a bad thing. We could, in fact, use more of it — for instance, when it comes to keeping an eye on the outrageous claims made by the food industry publicists whenever they think they can get away with it. Also, it has long been felt that elementary school meals could benefit from a little more scrutiny. Maybe, without violating any basic American principles, we could still find a way to minimize the devastating effects that result from the overabundance of fast food outlets.
Some very well-informed experts tell us that 80% to 90% of childhood obesity cases persist into adulthood — even when the person makes some efforts toward positive lifestyle changes.
Apparent progress plus disappointment
There has, over the past couple of decades, been a sort of overall gold-rush tendency to take childhood obesity more seriously, characterized by flashy but soon-forgotten headlines, and sporadically causing alarm in the anti-drug and anti-surgery factions. Meanwhile, deep and interesting work goes on more quietly in the background, for instance, on an identifying characteristic called the phenotype, which is made up of the combination of influences exerted by heredity plus environment.
For instance, as Tatyana Meshcheryakova, who is one of the writers on this blog, points out, Dr. Andres Acosta describes four categories of obesity phenotypes that can guide treatment recommendations:
Hungry Gut (HG). Patients experience rapid gastric emptying and feel hungry shortly after meals.
Hungry Brain. Individuals have impaired satiety and tend to overeat during meals.
Emotional Hunger. Emotional or hedonic eating behaviors dominate.
Slow Burn. Patients have a sluggish metabolism and burn fewer calories.
As the French say, “Vive la différence!” This research team discovered that when lifestyle interventions specifically tailored for each phenotype were applied and adhered to, “patients lost more weight and had greater metabolic improvement.” Better yet, Dr. Acosta’s lab “has developed a genetic test to predict the best responders to GLP-1 RAs, showing promise in identifying individuals who might benefit most.” Here, as in so many life situations, precision targeting works better than random stabs.
There is a limit
Subtlety is overrated, so let’s go right ahead and reveal the takeaway embedded in this post. Namely, in the catalogue of human frailties, another highly overrated item is the illusion of “watchful waiting,” a dodge that all too often is a coverup for a copout. We cherish a vague notion of doing something about a situation at a certain point in time, like when summer vacation starts.
Or when school is back in session… Or when that ongoing plumbing crisis is finally solved… Or after Melissa’s birthday, when she turns 14 and we can plan a serious talk…
“Watchful waiting” is a useful technique only in a limited number of situations, and any adult who finds themselves indulging/engaging in it too often, just might be deluded. This is worth considering. Sure, get a professional opinion. But Mom or Dad, don’t kid yourself.
Don’t fall for your own propaganda. If you have noticed that Junior tends to occasionally collapse a chair into a pile of splintered wood, more than likely, others have noticed it too. Maybe even Junior, who might be confused and ashamed and wishing for some kind of help, without knowing how to ask.
Bottom line: Watchful waiting is nowhere near as useful as active intervention.
Your responses and feedback are welcome!
Source: “Unlock your unique weight loss plan,” HelloAlpha.com, undated
Image by vandesart/Pixabay
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