6 days Ago
Ras Al Khiamah, UAE: In a world where weight loss is often reduced to numbers on a scale and calories on a plate, there’s a need to shift the narrative and that’s what RAK hospital strives to do. As part of its RAK Weight Loss Challenge 2025, the hospital recently hosted a Obefit Webinar titled The Psychology of Weight Loss led by clinical psychologist Savita Date. The session discussed emotional and mental barriers that often make or break a person’s journey to better health.
Date chose to offer a new perspective. “We tend to treat weight loss as a mathematical formula—eat less, move more—but the reality is far more complex,” she explained during the webinar. “Many people struggle to maintain a routine not because they lack willpower, but because they’re fighting deeper emotional and psychological battles.
” It was a conversation that asked attendees to turn inward. Using a powerful metaphor, Date described the ‘wall of obesity’—a structure built brick by brick from stress, trauma, loneliness, and self-soothing behaviors. She challenged participants to ask themselves a difficult but necessary question: “Is it physical hunger, or are we using food to soothe emotional pain, loneliness, stress, or helplessness?” The idea, she explained, was the brain’s reward system, particularly the role of the prefrontal cortex in creating a feedback loop between stress and eating.
“When we’re stressed or emotionally depleted, we crave comfort. Food provides a quick dopamine hit, a short-lived reward that soon fades, leaving us craving more,” she said. “Over time, we become conditioned to pair comfort with food—and this habit is tough to break.
” Instead of harsh self-discipline, she advocated for mindful, gradual behavior change rooted in self-awareness and compassion. “List the behaviours you want to adopt—and the ones you want to let go. Then, take it one step at a time.
Sustainable change doesn’t come overnight.” Key insights from the session included the critical role of mindfulness in resisting emotional food triggers, how sleep deprivation disrupts hunger hormones and weakens willpower, recognising the difference between physical and emotional hunger, and practising relaxation techniques to foster emotional resilience. The session ended on a hopeful and empowering note.
“Weight loss is not about punishing yourself. It’s about healing, understanding your emotions, and learning to cope differently. When your mind is ready, the body will follow,” noted Date.
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