TWO Oxford therapists have set up a course to help overweight people tackle their battle with food head-on.

It comes as Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust announces it has earmarked almost £700,000 to tackle obesity in the county this year According to health officials, about 24 per cent of Oxfordshire people are obese, but this figure could rise to 45 per cent by 2026 if no action is taken to address the problem.

Therapists Dolores O’Malley and Lin Paris, both from Oxford and members of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy, believe many people are caught in a pointless cycle of dieting, when they should be looking at their psychological relationship with food.

Ms O’Malley, who has faced her own battle with food issues, said: “We are hosting a 10-week Emotional Eating course, starting in Oxford next Thursday, which will help people discover why they eat more than they need to.

“This is not a diet group. It will not tell people how to eat or exercise.

“We believe that most people already know that information or can easily obtain it.

“The group’s work is based on a psychotherapeutic model called transactional analysis, which focuses on the psychological issues which can lie behind eating disorders.

“It looks at how people are misusing eating and dieting as a way of solving other problems in life.

“These problems can be anything from feeling bored and unmotivated, their work, etc, to deeper and longer- term problems, such as physical or sexual abuse or other life traumas that have not been dealt with.”

Ms O’Malley added: “Research suggests dieting does not work and that 95 per cent of slimmers regain the weight they lose through dieting, and more often than not regain more than they have originally lost.

“There are so many diets and nutritional methods, as well as TV programmes about losing weight and cooking food, that we are confused with all the mixed messages about what we need food for.”

Ms Paris, who specialises in working with people with weight and self-image issues, added: “The Emotional Eating group will aim to provide a no blame, no shame, safe environment, in which members will look at their relationship with food and explore their habits, values and attitudes to food and their body image.”

For more information, see oxford-therapy.co.uk, contact Ms O’Malley on 07946 581590 or email dolores@oxford-therapy.co.uk