Federico Luis Moya

Describe yourself in 3 words:

Committed, hardworking and fighter.

Tell us a bit about yourself:

Person living with obesity since 1998 and Expert Patient. Diploma in Management of Patient Associations from the University of Alicante in 2020. Executive Director of the National Abhispalis since December 2020. Member of OPEN-ESPAÑA (Obesity Policy Engagement Network) since October 2021. Patient advisor at the SEEDO (Spanish Society for the Study of Obesity) since February 2022.

Where do you live:

In the city of Santander, belonging to the region of Cantabria. It is located in the north of Spain.

What are some of your interests:     

Interested in comprehensive research on obesity and what people living with obesity suffer, in order to be part of the solution together with scientific societies.

What is your personal experience with obesity?

My relationship with obesity as a chronic disease started when I left competitive swimming and did not modify my caloric intake. Even though I was not spending any time in the pool, I still ate as if I still were a competitive swimmer.   The numbers on the scale were going up so fast.      In 2008, after several years of fighting cancer, I lost my mom, during that time, I developed anxiety.  Food became my refuge as it never judges you and is always available to make you feel better.  Can you imagine, every night, I could eat 18 donuts and 2 liters of Coca-Cola? That became my routine without even thinking. I found refuge in food from all the pain I was suffering.  Eating was how I was able to fall asleep, and it was how I found a way to calm my anxiety and not think about the pain of loss.    After several months of the repeated behavior, I woke up at 6 am to get ready for work, and I could not put on my shoes; I had to ask my dad for help. At work, I also had problems due to my condition, because of sleep apnea and not resting at night. Every so often, I had to nap while hiding in the bathroom. Also, my disease, my BMI was 54, which prevented me from performing some tasks, such as climbing a ladder, entering through some workplace doors.    After five years without medical support,  I heard an alarm on my head. At that very moment, I decided to put myself in the hands of a specialist, after several years and more than a thousand diets and without reducing my weight. In 2014 I was submitted to a tubular gastroscopy with which I managed to lose weight (100Kg in 365 days). After several years of suffering from gastric reflux, I had to undergo surgery again in 2019 to undergo a Gastric Bypass.     Today everything is perfect, but with care, because a person who has controlled obesity is a patient of obesity for all his life. Bariatric surgery is a great tool, but it is much more effective if supported by lifestyle.