In the papers: a sensible solution to food addiction

A 3,000 daily caloric intake, seven litres of caffeinated fluid and 196 teaspoons of sugar resembles the daily life of a 26 stone red bull addict adamant that she 'deserves' specialised surgery on the NHS in order to oust her obsession, but is an invasive surgical procedure a sensible solution to shedding the pounds?

Although struggling to sustain a successful diet may trigger the temptation to turn to extreme weight loss methods such as specialised surgery, failing to address the underlying psychological cause of an accumulation of excess weight - be it the result of an emotion fuelled binge eating disorder, habitual dietary habits or a food addiction - will not only lead to every attempted diet ending in disaster, but pose a severe risk to health, life and psychological wellbeing as the body and mind is repeatedly subjected to a multitude of dieting methods that are destined for failure.

Despite the desperation surrounding a slender silhouette, resorting to quick fix options such as diet pills, slimming supplements and specialised surgery in the hope of banishing our bulging bodies isn't going to tackle the psychological reason/s behind our weight worries. In fact, it will lead to a lifetime of self loathing as we struggle to understand why we're incapable of sustaining a healthy body weight, shape and image without the aid of the unhealthy weight loss methods that temporarily transform our bodies, but fail to transform our minds - the root cause of the majority of weight worries.

Successful and sustainable weight loss of a healthy and effective nature doesn't resemble a short-term fix to a complex problem, it stems from our ability to be honest about the psychological reasoning behind why we overeat, binge and in some cases, purge. Specialised surgery may be a short-term solution to weight loss, but it won't eliminate the psychological root cause that has lead to an accumulation of excess body fat, or an addiction to food.

Until we're willing to accept our weaknesses and reasons why we choose to overeat, we will forever be fighting a daily battle with our body weight, shape and image - a battle that will strip us of our sanity and potentially cost us our health and life.