Why are Health Coaches so important?

Why are health coaches becoming more and more important and what is the difference between a health coach and a nutritionist? These are the questions I want to answer today.

As soon as people learn that I am a health coach, most people think, that I know everything about nutrition, create detailed diet plans and know exactly how many calories each dish has. That’s not quite true. But what makes a Health Coach different from a nutritionist and why do you need a Health Coach?

Why Health Coaches are becoming more important

Chronic diseases such as diabetes are on the increase. But why is that happening?

1. The modern lifestyle including your diet is not adapted to your genes. Nowadays we consume far too much refined sugar, overgrown plants, preservatives or worse antibiotics through our food. Our bodies are not designed for this. Our body is good at processing wholesome foods such as fresh vegetables, meat from healthy animals or natural fruits. Wrong or bad diets, insufficient exercise and an unhealthy lifestyle (smoking, alcohol, too little sleep) can lead to obesity. Overweight is one of the biggest causes of diabetes.
2. Our health care system is not good at preventing chronic diseases, or if you are suffering from them, it is not good at taking sustainable action against them. Conventional medicine in the form of medication is good, but not always the solution. It is way more important to educate risk groups in time so that drugs are not necessary in the first place.
3. There is a lack of education. People from lower levels of education suffer more frequently from chronic diseases than people from higher levels of education. So there is a lack of education. It would help if schools would teach what is healthy and why health is important.

Some facts:

• Worldwide obesity has nearly tripled since 1975.
• In 2016, more than 1.9 billion adults, 18 years and older, were overweight. Of these over 650 million were obese.
• 39% of adults aged 18 years and over were overweight in 2016, and 13% were obese.
• Most of the world’s population live in countries where overweight and obesity kills more people than underweight.
• 41 million children under the age of 5 were overweight or obese in 2016.
• Over 340 million children and adolescents aged 5-19 were overweight or obese in 2016.
• Obesity is preventable.

But why is obesity bad? Obesity is major risk factor for noncommunicable diseases such as:

• cardiovascular diseases (mainly heart disease and stroke), which were the leading cause of death in 2012;
• diabetes; 
• musculoskeletal disorders (especially osteoarthritis – a highly disabling degenerative disease of the joints); 
• some cancers (including endometrial, breast, ovarian, prostate, liver, gallbladder, kidney, and colon).

Source: WHO – World Health Organization; Report about Obesity and Overweight from 16 February 2018; Link to report about Obesity and overweight

Why we need more Health Coaches?

A health coach is not a doctor or physician. He cannot replace going to the doctor with serious medical issues. But he can help you to prevent chronic diseases, to live with them in an optimal way and sometimes to get rid of them.

Let me tell you a short story… I know a person via many corners who really impressed me and also motivated me in my job as a health coach. When I met him, he was heavily overweight, had diabetes and had to take medication regularly. At some point, he told us that he had started to change his diet and now had to take his medication less often. By now he doesn’t have to take any medication at all. That is not my achievement, instead he did it all by himself, because he wanted to change something in his life. I am very impressed by this health achievement and the motivation behind it.

I believe that many people can do exactly that, but just don’t really know it or just don’t have the drive or the knowledge that they can make a change. And that’s where health coaches come in. A health coach can provide you with the resources you need to achieve your goals. That’s why health coaches are becoming increasingly more important in today’s world. They can help prevent disease, so there is no need to take medication regularly.

This is what Health Coaches do:

1. Supports you in Lifestyle changes. Establish long-term nutrition and lifestyle that fit your genes to prevent chronic diseases and lead to a healthy active life. A health coach supports you in setting and achieving goals.
2. Explains you what functional medicine is. Focused on prevention and regression instead of simply managing chronic diseases with medication.

Info: A Health Coach does not replace a doctor. A Health Coach cannot diagnose or prescribe/recommend medication. However, he can help you to live a healthier life.

Difference between Health Coach and Nutritionist

A nutritionist is an expert when it comes to detailed personalised nutrition plans and nutritional advice. This professional group is often subject to stricter guidelines.

A Health Coach specializes in helping clients define and achieve their goals.

You want to learn more about what a Health Coach does? Find out more about my Health Coaching approach and my Health Coaching Packages.

Do you have any questions? Feel free to write me a mail or a comment – I am looking forward to get in touch with you. <3

• Category: General, Health Coaching