Obesity refers to excessive weight and accumulation of body fat. By definition, a person is considered to be obese if his body mass index (BMI) is higher than 30 kg/m2. BMI is defined as weight divided by height squared.
Obesity leads to serious health consequences and an increased risk of many diseases, including diabetes, heart diseases and cancer. Treatment of obesity will help to bring down the risk of these diseases.
Significance
The main objective of obesity treatment is to bring down a person's weight to a healthier level. For many people, it is sufficient to reduce weight by 5 to 10 percent. For instance, if you weight 300 lbs., it may be sufficient to lose 15 to 30 lbs. Studies show that a weight reduction of 10 percent will reduce the risk of heart diseases by 30 percent. For patients with diabetes, losing 20 percent of their weight or more may lead to remission.
Types
The most common treatment for obesity is through lifestyle modification--changes in diet and increased physical activity. The objective of diet change is to lower the total calorie intake. Your healthcare provider can help you to estimate the goal for calorie restriction. A diet containing a lot of whole grains, fruit and vegetables, and low in fat, protein and sugar will help you to lose weight.
Regular exercise not only helps to bring the weight down, but also reduces fat in your body. It is recommended that you engage in moderate physical activity (i.e. walking, jogging, biking) for at least 30 minutes every day.
For very obese people, medical interventions may be necessary. The medical interventions for obesity range from anti-obesity drugs such as Metformin, Orlistat, Rimonabant, Sibutramine and Byetta, to bariatric surgery. There are several bariatric surgery techniques, including adjustable gastric banding, vertical banded gastroplasty and gastric bypass surgery.
Effects
Normal adults require 2,000 to 2,500 calories a day for regular activities. It is estimated that cutting 250 calories from your daily diet will help you lose 2 to 3 lbs. every month.
Bariatric surgery is considered to be the most effective method for obesity treatment. Gastric bypass surgery has been shown to reduce up to 40 percent of the weight prior to the surgery. The effects of the surgery on the patient's weight can last up to 10 to 20 years. Furthermore, the effects of the surgery on diabetes and hypertension can be observed as early as 2 weeks after the surgery.
Considerations
Consult your doctors for prescription drugs for obesity only if other weight loss techniques fail. You should also learn about the side effects weight-loss drugs. For instance, Sibutramine can lead to hypertension and constipation, and can cause headaches and insomnia. Orlistat may increase the frequency of bowel movements. The effects of weight-loss medication on weight tend to reach a plateau at 6 months.
Expert Insight
Bariatric surgery is currently only recommended for extremely obese people (i.e. people with BMI higher than 40). Bariatric surgery also has many potential complications, with 1 in every 1,000 lap band surgeries resulting in death.
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