For the first time in history a greater part of the world’s population is overweight or obese than suffering from malnutrition, with the result that the planet is facing a major societal problem caused by overeating.

That’s according to leading international weight loss expert and creator Motivation Weight Management’s revolutionary weight loss programme Dr. Maurice Larocque, who believes that the only way to tackle the global obesity epidemic is to tackle both the physiological and psychological aspects of overeating.

Appearing on a recent edition of TV3’s Ireland AM, Dr. Larocque said that obesity is now a major problem across the developed world, affecting countries such as Canada, the USA, France and Ireland, where it is estimated that two out of every five people are now obese or overweight.

Responding to a question by host Mark Cagney, Dr. Larocque said that obesity and excess weight was not so much about food, as the reasons why we eat. “People have lost hope,” he said. “They have tried diets, operations but nothing works and they don’t understand why.”

Dr. Larocque explained that there are two main causes for being overweight or obese – physiological and psychological.

He said physiological causes included eating to get energy in an attempt to overcome fatigue caused by lack of sleep, and food cravings resulting from eating too many sugary foods. He advised that eating less sugar and more protein based food helps to control appetite by increasing satiety.

But it was also essential to understand the psychological reasons at the root of overeating behaviour such as anxiety, stress, attitudes and emotions, which are now so prevalent in modern society.

An internationally recognised bariatrician and a practising physician who has devoted his career to treating excess weight and obesity, Dr. Larocque recalled that it was his dissatisfaction with traditional treatments that led him to develop the revolutionary mental weight concept that is a key part of the Motivation Weight Management Programme.

By helping people to identify the habits, emotions and other causes at the root of their overeating behaviour, the mental weight questionnaire enables them to take positive action to lose weight by changing those behaviours.
Dr. Larocque’s interview on Ireland AM was one of a number of appearances he made during a recent visit to Ireland, which also included a lecture to a capacity audience and a guest appearance on RTE’s Late Late Show.