- Intitial Teatment
- Expert Views Morbidly
- Obese vs/Upwardly Mobile
Obesity requires long-term management. The goal of treatment is weight loss to improve or eliminate related health problems, or the risk for them, not to attain an ideal weight.
Treatment consists of modifying eating behaviors, physical activity, monitoring your behavior, such as understanding what may trigger you to eat. If this treatment does not help to lose weight, medications may be considered. In severe cases surgical procedures can reduce the size of the stomach and limit how may calories the intestines absorb.
Treatment also covers the psychological and social components of obesity. Stress management and counselling may be helpful. Family support and creating community contacts help to deal with the stereotypes and other social issues that are associated with obesity.
Initial treatment
The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommends treatment for
anyone who wishes to lose weight and:
Is obese (has a body mass index [BMI] of 30 or higher).
Is overweight (has a BMI of 25 to 29.9) and has two or more health problems that obesity may make worse, such as coronary artery disease or type 2 diabetes.
Has a waist circumference of 40 in. (101.6 cm) in men or 35 in. (88.9 cm) in women, and two or more health problems that obesity may make worse.
For these people, the NHLBI recommends :
Losing 10% of their current weight at a rate of 1 lb(0.45 kg) to 2 lb(0.9 kg) a week for six months.
After 6 months, reevaluating to determine whether they need to lose more weight. If they have met their weight-loss goals, their health professionals may suggest weight maintenance.
Restricting calories and increasing activity are the major components of treatment for obesity. When following this treatment plan, keep in mind the following:
Although a very low-calorie diet results in quick weight loss, the weight is often gained back. Over the long term, a low-calorie diet and a very low-calorie diet have similar results.
Research indicates that the most important factor in dieting is not the type of food you eat, but how many calories you restrict. For example, restricting only carbohydrates or fat will not result in any more weight loss than an overall low-calorie diet. In a low-carbohydrate diet, such as the Atkins diet, calorie restriction, the length of the diet, and your initial weight may be more important factors than carbohydrate restriction.
Research indicates that physical activity is less helpful for initial weight loss than for maintaining weight loss.
You may begin to see an improvement in health problems related to obesity, or reduced risk for these problems, after losing 5% to 10% of your weight.
Before beginning treatment, it is important to decide whether you want to lose weight. If you are not motivated to do so, it will be more difficult to make the lifestyle changes necessary to lose weight.
If you do not lose weight, continue to gain weight, have lost weight several times only to regain it, or if your health professional is concerned about a related health problem, you need surgery.
Should I treat obesity with surgery?
Weight loss surgery is being increasingly applied to treat morbid obesity. The reasons are:Our current knowledge of the significant health risks of morbid obesity,
The ineffectiveness of current non - surgical approaches to produce sustained weight loss and The relatively low risk and complications of the procedure versus not having the surgery You have to seriously consider the surgical option for reducing weight to avoid its ill effects.
If your BMI is over 40, or is 35 or higher and you have a serious medical problem that is made worse by obesityIf you have been unable to reduce weight or maintain weight under medically supervised programYou have been obese for at least 5 years
Have no history of alcohol abuseNot have depression or other major emotional disorder
Weight reduction surgery is not for all over weight people. It offers an alternative to those who are unable to maintain weight loss through dieting. But it is very important to know that to maintain weight loss after surgery, you still have to eat less food, change the type of food you eat and increase physical activity. |
