Dr Eva is back

Dr Eva Orsmond’s no-nonsense approach to weight loss has made her a household name in Ireland, but she admits to having one vice.

“I love chocolate. If I could, I would live on it,” she says. But there has to be a balance in life, and we need to strike that balance.”

The Finnish doctor is determined to get the country healthier and make better choices when it comes to food. Two years after leaving RTÉ’s Operation Transformation, she is returning to our screens to educate the public on the danger of sugar. The documentary will look at the serious health problems linked with excessive consumption of sugar.

The Irish are the fourth-largest consumers of sugar in the world, and it can be found in many everyday foods and seemingly “healthy” products. The show will chart a Kilkenny family’s eating habits to see how much sugar is really lurking in food.

“I’ve been saying for years that low fat is a big lie – we need to watch labelling,” she says. “This whole thing has been my passion for many years. To be able to do this documentary was a dream come true.”

She says making the programme was an “eye opener” and thinks it will force many people to reassess their eating habits.

Rocking the Boat

“This programme is really going to rock the boat. I think people are going to say: ‘Oh my God, what is in the house that I can actually eat?’ I’m even shocked myself,” she says.

“I interviewed the head of the Irish Dental Association, and she said the amount of children admitted to hospital for dental extractions is absolutely shocking. We are causing a lot of damage, and it’s not just about weight and obesity,” she says.

Return to the small screen

Operation Transformation is also back – does Eva miss the show?

“I didn’t make the decision to leave lightly. I thought about it over and over many times. The reason I left was because I did the show for six years and I felt I was saying the same stuff,” she says.

“I did want to go back to TV. I want to do different things, but I’m slightly different from the other TV personalities because I have a day job. I’m very busy, but the exposure increases interest for my clinic work, and I get huge reward from that. If I do TV, I want to feel it will make an impact, and it has to be something I’m interested in.”

Eva has four clinics – two in Dublin, and one in Galway and Kilkenny – and says her work is all about making people healthy, rather than appearance.

“I see people every day and I still hear people say that they don’t want to look too gaunt. This is not about looks – it’s about health. To reverse type two diabetes, a few kilos won’t make a difference. People say to me: ‘Oh, I used to be 10 stone when I was 28. You’re not expecting me to get there now?’ It’s almost like we have a right with age to get heavier,” says Eva.

“The older we get, the lighter we should be, because of the links with longer life expectancy and a better quality of life.”

Getting Started

Eva initially hoped to train as a plastic surgeon. Then she moved to South Africa, met her husband Wyatt and ended up in Ireland due to his work in 2000. With two small boys, her sons Evan and Christofer, now 18 and 19, respectively, she started to look at other career options.

“Things changed when I had my kids. With surgical hours you have to be available 24/7. I just couldn’t do it,” she says.

“I started by public health training in Sweden before I got married, and in that course they emphasised the growth of the obesity epidemic worldwide. Then I came to Ireland, and I remember looking around the hospital thinking: ‘Oh my God, these doctors and nurses are overweight.’ I thought: ‘How can they motivate people to change their lifestyles or be role models for healthy living?’”

Eva believes that doctors and nurses must lead by example. She is also critical of the lack of obesity screening in the country.

“So many admissions to hospitals would be stopped if people were healthier,” she says. “It makes me angry that we are doing these cervical checks and breast checks and not BMI checks and weight checks on women first. We know that if you are very heavy, you are likely to get cancer.”

Obesity is not natural

The doctor slams the idea that people can be naturally overweight.

“That’s rubbish. Children are not born overweight. Children can be born big, and that’s due to the fact that the mother was overweight. It’s so important for women to get pregnant on a clean health slate, as it has a direct impact on the children,” she says.

“There is evidence that genetics play a part, but being pre-disposed to put on weight doesn’t mean you have to become overweight. I would think that the environment you grow up in has the biggest impact.”

With such strong words, it looks like Ireland’s toughest doctor hasn’t changed since her Operation Transformation days.

She’s delighted to be on TV again. After coming to Ireland 15 years ago, she says she’s gone from knowing no one to being recognised on the streets.

“I’ve had great opportunities to meet interesting people,” she says. “It’s been really lovely, but I’ve worked very hard for it. Nothing comes for free, you know.”

Eva’s documentary on sugar airs on RTÉ One on Monday, 11 January.