Tuesday 2 August 2022 11:09 PM Women aged 40 to 60 should ALL be given weight loss counselling, Federal-funded ... trends now

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All women aged 40 to 60 years old should be given weight loss counseling, a federally-funded female health group has said.

This is because among women those who are middle aged are most likely to be obese and gain about 1.5lbs-a-year on average, the doctors added.

The recommendation comes from the Women's Preventive Services Initiative (WPSI) which said women should be offered counseling to help maintain a healthy weight or limit weight gain. It was launched in 2016 to 'review and update' advice on women's health.

Some experts reacted favourably to the advice, saying it would help encourage patients to pay attention to their weight and influence 'positive' meal choices.

But one expert laid into it, warning it would feed into 'weight stigma' and ignored underlying causes of obesity including living in poorer areas and a lack of access to healthy food.

Data showed about 43 percent of women in their 40s and 60s — or two in five — are overweight or obese. 

But it is slightly higher among men in the same age group at 46 percent, although similar guidance does not appear to exist for them.