Obesity is Complicated – Don’t Ignore and Treat it Like Other Diseases
June 03, 2021
418
Obesity is seen by many people as a spiritual failure rather than a disorder. Obesity, however, is a complex, lifelong condition, according to Dr. Fatima Cody, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. University’s recent interesting and insightful talk discusses how the body absorbs and retains resources, as well as the dynamic interplay of hereditary, developmental, hormonal, cultural, and behavioral causes that lead to obesity
Obesity isn’t just about “calories in vs. calories out.”
Obesity is more than just a matter of calories in/calories out. Many doctors explain that it’s naive because if the equation is that simple to solve, we wouldn’t have the epidemic of obesity that we do today. They went on to conclude that not only is the energy management hypothesis incorrect, but that criticizing the patient and focusing on the simple calculation has led to the obesity crisis. Stigma, guilt, and embarrassment exacerbate the dilemma and make a recovery more difficult. Obesity affects more than 36 percent of people in India, and the rest of the world is not far away.
She talks about her study and familiarity with obesity therapy, including a few examples from her clinic. These are the cases that get my attention when they show the impact of various medical treatments (and combinations) for obesity: food and lifestyle (i.e., behavioral), drugs, and surgery. Stanford has had impressive, long-term positive effects on both of them, but she still stresses nutrition and lifestyle improvement as the most important factor. The MGH Weight Center’s initiative (called Healthy Habits for Life) is a big undertaking. Still, it will help reframe a person’s relationship with food by emphasizing a high-quality diet rather than calorie counting.
Considering obesity as a disease
Obesity should be recognized as a condition by doctors, and obese patients should be treated more aggressively for weight loss. The instructions for this decision are basically a care manual. The recommendations recommend strategies such as recommending patients a diet that restricts 500 or more calories per day and a workout regimen that requires patients to move for at least 2 12 hours a week. Behavioral therapy is also used to ensure people adhere to the schedule. Physicians should also acknowledge weight-loss operations in chronically obese patients with one or perhaps more obesity health risks such as asthma, sleep apnea, or hypertension. Previously, clinicians would wait until patients were experiencing two or more symptoms before prescribing medication.
The idea that obesity is now considered a disorder and that doctors should deal more closely with obese patients is at the forefront of the revisions to the recommendations. Obesity was formally recognized as a disorder by the American Medical Association in June.
Advising patients that they need to lose weight is insufficient. We want healthcare providers to take responsibility for the problem. According to medical experts, they must own the problem of weight management in the same way that they own the problem of glycemic control in a diabetic patient. The recommendations represent the most recent research on weight loss to combat heart disease and stroke, the nation’s No. 1 and No. 4 killers, respectively.
It has been 15 years since federal health authorities issued obesity management recommendations. Obesity has since been declared a national disease. Obesity affects one of every three people in developing countries, raising their risk of elevated blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. In weight-related treatment expenses, the condition costs about $190 billion a year.
“Obesity and the risk factors that have been passed down across generations have become an increasing burden. That is the caution sign that we can no longer ignore,” said the Heart Association’s president.
The elements of an effective obesity treatment
Here is a more detailed description of the conventional treatment service: it’s a 12-week group-based education and support program with a standardized plan and regular patient interaction. The 90-minute courses are taught by a licensed dietitian and discuss topics such as the causes of obesity, healthy living, debunking common diet theories, and dining out, grocery shopping, meal planning, physical exercise, and more. The aim of such programs is to provide patients with the knowledge, resources and supports they need to live a healthier lifestyle.
According to a medical source, “I think it’s crucial to remember that the diet that “works” is the diet that a person will follow for the rest of his or her life.” In order to see the most impact in maintaining a healthy weight, we stress the importance of long-term lifestyle changes over short-term diet fixes.” This claim is supported by fact, as a new study of several scientific trials examining various weight-loss diets discovered that they all performed almost equally well.
Weight loss surgery recommended for certain patients
If therapeutic interventions do not succeed for excessively obese people whose health is at risk, surgery may be required. According to the recommendations, bariatric surgery should be considered for patients with a BMI of 40 or higher, as well as those with a BMI of 35 or higher who have at least one obesity-related health condition, such as Type 2 diabetes or sleep apnea. Previously, patients were expected to have at least two health issues. The recommendations do not recommend any specific weight loss surgery. Rather, the treatment should be chosen depending on the individual’s age, degree of obesity, risk of complications, and other considerations. Weight reduction surgery is not recommended for patients with a BMI less than 35, according to the recommendations. These treatments have a huge effect on Type 2 diabetes management and the risk of mortality.
Medications to treat obesity
What can impress people (including doctors) is how effective weight loss drugs can be, but it can take some experimentation to determine what works best for each person. “These drugs have an impact on how the brain handles the body’s weight set point as well as how the brain deals with the environment. However, there seems to be no explanation why one drug works for one person but not another.
To summarize, obesity is a complex, chronic condition with many risk factors. Obesity consultants, primary care physicians, and surgeons may help direct therapies that require dietary changes such as diet and exercise, weight-loss surgeries as well as treating emotional issues that lead to obesity.
Consult Dr. Manish Khaitan – Best Bariatric Surgeon in Ahmedabad, Gujarat for your obesity, overweight & diabetes related treatment queries.
About the Author
