As the largest provider of offshore medicals for Oil & Gas UK, one of the most common reasons we at Abermed give for failing the examination is being overweight or obese.
Obesity – or at least being over the recommended body mass index (BMI) or weight for your height – can impact on your ability to do your job and can lead to numerous health problems, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer, sleep apnoea and diabetes.
Living and working in a country with one of the highest levels of obesity in the developed world and an ageing offshore workforce means we see numerous people with these health conditions already or who are at high risk of developing them in the future.
In many cases, our clients will be placed on a restricted medical certificate, which will restrict the type of work they are safely allowed to do, and often means they are unable to work offshore.
Therefore many of my clients are referred through the medical staff at Abermed, or some companies may employ me to work directly with their staff – such as the large North Sea operator that recently held a health day to offer advice on healthy eating and lifestyle in order to promote weight loss and lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels, as well as reducing stress.
There are those in the offshore workforce who are tempted to “crash dieting” in order to pass medicals and get the vital certificate. But it is my job to help and support individuals to safely and gradually lose weight by making positive changes to their diet and lifestyle to ensure they sustain long-term weight maintenance and good health.
With each new patient it is important to carry out a detailed initial assessment where we discuss their medical history, lifestyle, their available support network and eating and exercise habits.
For example, it’s well documented that shift work – particularly night and early morning shifts – and eating at irregular times can disrupt the body clock, causing fatigue and loss of concentration. Regular exercise can help shift workers, as can eating regular balanced light meals and snacks with a good source of protein, plenty of fruit and vegetables, and wholegrain bread, pasta or rice that are easy to digest and make you feel satisfied but release energy slowly.
We also look at psychological issues relating to lifestyle and weight gain. Yummy puddings and cakes might taste good but they can have a negative effect on your mood and wellbeing.
We then make individual recommendations that include personalised eating plans to suit the individual’s lifestyle, with advice on balanced meals and portion sizes. We also offer differing advice for onshore and offshore workers.
These plans are regularly reviewed as their weight reduces in order to maintain successful progress.
Healthy people are happier people who are more productive and contribute more to the organisations they are employed by, and Abermed is also looking to develop group health-promotion sessions in the workplace, particularly aimed at men.
In fact, we have started our own weight-loss group at Abermed HQ in Aberdeen – collectively, we lost our first stone after just three weeks.
Abermed’s Toby Donnelly has 12 years’ experience as a dietitian, including clinical and community work all over the UK. She is a member of the British Dietetic Association and its specialist group, Dieticians in Obesity Management UK (DOM UK)