Therapeutic Recreation in Obesity

This morning I am presenting a talk and workshop on obesity at the 2012 Annual Symposium of the Alberta Therapeutic Recreation Association, “Navigating Challenges & Changes in TR”, being held here in Edmonton, October 24-25-26, 2012.

Faithful readers, may recall a previous post, in which I wondered if there would be a role for recreational therapists in obesity management.

As I noted in that post,

“….recreational therapists are the professional experts in helping clients to rediscover and maximise independence in leisure, optimal health and quality of life.

Recreational therapy has been shown to reduce depression, stress, anxiety, as well as recover or maintain motor functioning, reasoning abilities and build confidence that allows clients to enjoy greater independence and quality of life.

Established benefits of therapeutic recreation include maintenance of physical and pscyhosocial health, cognitive functioning, personal and life satisfaction, and prevention of complications of physical disabilities and improved self-care and adherence to treatment plans.”

As I also noted,

“These services would most certainly be relevant to many of the severely obese patients that we see in our clinic, who have experienced social isolation due to their excess weight and have certainly lost much of their social network and interactions.”

I very much look forward to participating in this conference and to learning more about the potential role of therapeutic recreation in the care and rehabilitation of bariatric patients.

AMS
Edmonton, Alberta