Jamaica's tremendous performance at the World Championships brings to mind Buju Banton's hit song, Champion. Although some of the lyrics are not fit for this medium, I think the line, 'walk like a champion, talk like a champion' reflects an excellent attitude to success.

In the interviews of our women gold-medal winners was a recurring theme of hard work, focus and a belief that they can be successful. They are living examples of the attitude of success.

Employing this attitude in our daily lives could make many of us more successful in our endeavours. One such pursuit which I have always considered important is weight loss. Although during my lifetime, so far, I have not had to struggle with the battle of obesity, my interest in maintaining a healthy weight has continually led me to institute corrective measures as soon as I notice the pounds inching upwards.

However, many people have more than just a few pounds to lose. Obesity is a far greater problem among women compared to men in Jamaica and some of my patients exceed their healthy weight by more than 100 pounds. I am happy to report that some of them have started or are continuing their fight with obesity and are winning.

Components of weightloss

The three components of successful weight loss are diet, exercise and behaviour modification. Although there are many 'fashionable diets' to choose from, a recent study published in a leading North American journal concluded that reducing calories will lead to weight loss regardless of which combination of fat, protein and carbohydrates are emphasised in the diet. Therefore, although I sometimes recommend consulting a nutritionist to assist with one's efforts, as a start I often tell my patients to reduce the amount that they eat at each meal. For example, if they would normally eat two spoonfuls of rice, reduce the portion to one or one and a half.

One exercise plan that women can use is simply walking. She should gradually increase her walking until she is able to walk two miles per day, five days per week. While exercise alone is unlikely to lead to dramatic weight loss, when it is combined with diet, it leads to a greater amount of weight loss and a greater decrease in body fat than either of the two done alone. The combination of diet and exercise also increases the likelihood that the woman will keep the weight off.

Behaviour modification involves using techniques that take into consideration one's relationship to factors in the environment to reinforce the goal of weight loss. One example is replacing negative comments about any dietary indiscretions with positive comments such as 'don't beat up yourself'.

Therefore, to our many Jamaican women struggling with obesity, 'walk like a champion, talk like a champion' and you may have people echoing Buju's comments in the next line of his song.

Dr Monique Rainford is a consulting obstetrician and gynaecologist; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.