THE Ministry of Health yesterday expressed concern that many persons are now promoting ‘easy, no effort and fast’ Weight Loss programmes in Guyana.

According to the ministry, there is simply no easy way for overweight persons to lose extra weight fast.

“The Ministry of Health is not aware of any method to lose weight easy, without any effort, without any physical activity and dieting and to achieve weight loss fast,” Health Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy said in a statement.

“We are unequivocal – there is no evidence of any cream, any gadget that would promote weight loss fast, without physical activity and without adherence to a proper diet and without giving up smoking and misusing alcohol,” Ramsammy said.

“We are, therefore, extremely concerned about advertisements and services which claim that a person can lose weight fast without any effort, other than paying for certain commodities,” he said.

Ramsammy said such health claims are not backed by any evidence and, therefore, are misleading. The Food and Drug Analyst Act is clear: no health claims can be made unless there is verifiable evidence.

The sale of supplements and the provision of services are not illegal if they do not make claims of health gains. However, once health claims are made, Ramsammy said these services become illegal, unless the claims can be verified.

In such cases, these products must be licensed by the FDA and such services must be licensed by the Health Facilities Licensing Act.

“As Minister of Health, I am asking that consumers should be aware that the services and supplements be marketed in Guyana for fast, easy weight loss are not consistent with evidence and as such they ought to be aware that they may be paying for supplies and services that will not allow them to achieve their desired goals,” Ramsammy said.

He said the persons responsible for the provision of such supplies and services ought to know that the Ministry of Health would want them to provide the evidence and they ought to know they must be licensed for these purposes.

Ramsammy also noted that his ministry has been promoting weight control and has been accelerating its campaign for every Guyanese to ‘know their BMI (body mass index).

The campaign known as ‘What am I without my BMI’ seeks to ensure that all Guyanese are aware of their body weight and they try to control body weight to maintain normal BMI of between 18 and 25.

The Ministry of Health has advised persons that BMI cam be calculated by the formula either as:
**  (weight in kg/height in cm)/height in cm, or
**  [(Weight in lbs/height in inches)/height in inches]X 703

For example, Ramsammy said his weight is 140 lbs and his height is 68 inches. As such, his BMI is, therefore [(140/68)/68]X703 = (2.06/68) X 703 = 0.03 X 703 = 21.3

The Ministry of Health is pleased with the response of the Guyanese people to this campaign. We have observed a greater awareness of the importance of controlling body weight within the recommended BMI.

The Ministry has noted the increase in the number of persons getting involved in physical activity and still encourages others to join the physical activity revolution emerging in our country.

“We are pleased that many other institutions and even businesses have joined us in promoting the message about body weight and control,” the minister urged.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY BY ITSELF WOULD NOT WORK

“We have sought to educate people that neither proper  nutrition and diet by itself nor physical activity by itself will work to maintain the recommended body weight and BMI,” he said

For persons to maintain body weight within the recommended BMI, Ramsammy said a number of conditions must be met:
•         Proper diet, balanced and with an awareness of portion and caloric content
•         Regular and sustained physical activity such as jogging, walking, playing sports, swimming, dancing, etc.
•         No smoking
•         No misuse of alcohol

THE EARLY SUCCESS OF WEIGHT NO MORE

“We are pleased that so many people have become interested in our ‘Weight No More’ Programme. We are more pleased that the 12 young ladies that have been part of creating awareness by publicly displaying their struggles to lose weight are in fact losing weight and achieving finally their desires of living with a more healthier body weight and BMI. Even though its been one month so far, each of the participants have lost weight and feeling much better about themselves.”

Ramsammy said his ministry congratulates these girls. But we are aware that the struggle is a difficult and arduous one and success will not be achieved without major commitment.