Obesity is one of the increasing problems in the world, in adults and young people that can lead to numerous complications, and might result in death. There are several different types of effective treatment and control of body weight, including the treatment of diet, physical activity, behavioral treatment, drug treatment, combined treatment and surgery that can reduce the obesity.
Reducing body weight by about 5-10% is proved to be good for health in terms of reducing the number of risk factors related to obesity. Recommendations for treatment are now focusing on weight reduction of 5-10% with long-term maintenance of weight achieved.
Assessment of body weight
When diagnosing the obesity, is necessary to determine body mass index (BMI) and waist measure. The BMI measures that indicate the obesity vary from
- BMI over 25- overweight and mark the point where it increases the risk of excessive weight.
- BMI over 30- obesity and marks the point where increasing the risk of disease and death as a result of excessive weight.
Along with the genuine BMI, the waist is also taken into consideration and in the case the waist measure exceeds 102 cm in men and 88 cm in women, the risk of developing the disease as a result of being overweight is increased.
Diet treatment
Diet treatment is the first step in reducing the chances of obesity. Treatment includes diet in order to reduce daily calories intake. Measuring the reduction of intake of calories is essential for a slow but steady weight loss, which is important for the maintenance of weight loss. Strategies of diet therapy include informing about calorie content of different foods, food composition (fat, carbohydrates, and proteins), reading nutrition labels, types of foods and how to prepare low calorie but still healthy and nutritious foods. Some diets are based on low calories, very-low calories or low-fats.
Physical activity
Reduced daily activity related to work, transportation and household chores contribute to the high percentage of overweight and obesity. For the purpose of losing weight doctors highly recommend physical activity of 30 or more minutes a day, preferably every day. Physical activity is considered to be a key part for weight loss. Abdominal fat, and in some cases waist circumference can be modestly reduced through regular physical activity.
Behavioral therapy
Behavior therapy involves changing habits related to nutrition and physical activity and the adoption of new behaviors that promote weight loss. Behavioral therapy strategies to reduce weight and keep the new weight include certain steps that need to be followed in order to have effective therapy. The first step is recording diet and exercise patterns on a daily basis, and making this a habit and a new style of life. Other step is truly identifying high-risk situations and consciously avoiding any eventual and potential dangers. In order to truly change the bad habits, you must change unrealistic goals and false beliefs about weight loss and body image to adopt realistic and positive ones. Also another positive thing that will certainly have positive impact on you is developing a support network (family, friends or colleagues) or joining a support group that can be a positive and motivating way to encourage weight loss.
Surgical treatment
Surgical treatment is recommended as a treatment choice for obese individuals with a BMI over 40 or a BMI of between 35 and 39.9, followed by serious health problems. . Before surgery, patients should be informed of the risks and expected benefits of the medical treatment. Surgical modification in the stomach and intestines act in a way that they reduce the amount of food a person can eat. Surgical intervention is confirmed method of long-term control of body weight a person with severe obesity. Efforts have been great strides in the development of safer and more effective procedures in modern surgical procedures related to obesity. Patients need to be motivated and committed to the concept of lifestyle changes after surgery, for the mere surgery is not a long-term solution if the patient continues with the lifestyle led prior to the operation.