Obesity
What is Obesity?
Nutrition begins in the mother’s womb and continues until death. For human growth, development, healthy and productive, adequate and balanced nutrition is necessary. Individuals in daily life; It needs daily calories varying according to age, gender, job, genetic characteristics and disease status.
In order to maintain a healthy life, it is necessary to keep the calories taken and the calories expended in balance. If the daily calorie intake is more than the calories spent, the unspent calories are stored as fat in the body and causes obesity.
By the World Health Organization, obesity has been defined as excessive fat accumulation in the body to the extent that it disrupts health. As can be understood, obesity; İt is accepted as a disease that negatively affects the quality and duration of life, which occurs as a result of the calories taken with foods, more than the calories consumed and the excess energy being stored as fat (20% or more) in the body.
What are the Symptoms of Obesity?
Early diagnosis of obesity symptoms is very important for treatment. The same symptoms are seen in people with many obesity diseases. Among these symptoms;
- Sleeping disorders
- Excessive sweating
- Trouble breathing
- Increased desire to eat
- Snore
- Quick fatigue
- Swelling in the feet
- Back pain
- There is increased fat in the abdomen and waist area.
What are the Causes of Obesity?
Excessive and unbalanced nutrition are important factors in obesity. In addition, the developments in today’s technology have made life easier and limited daily movements significantly. Insufficient physical activity causes obesity due to many interrelated genetic, environmental, socio-cultural and psychological factors.
How is Obesity Treated?
To be successful in the fight against obesity requires a disciplined work. In our clinics Obesity Departments, Nutrition Diet, Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases, Obesity and Metabolism Surgery unit, Psychiatry department works in coordination to determine the most appropriate treatment method for the patient.
Diet Treatment in Obesity
The most important step during obesity treatment is diet and exercise therapy. The daily calorie amount that the person evaluated by the dietician is determined and the eating program is prepared. With the diet, the person can lose weight, but as most overweight people experience by living, they regain the same weight or even more as soon as they quit the diet and switch to normal eating patterns. It should create a new diet in order not to gain weight back. Patients should abandon old habits.
Exercise Therapy
Exercise is the second most important remedy for weight loss. A weight loss program without exercise is unthinkable and it is not likely to be successful anyway. Exercise alone has been shown to lose moderate weight. It has been shown that people who exercise regularly have a high metabolic rate also during rest. The energy-consuming effect of exercise continues not only during the movement but also after the exercise is terminated.
However, for a person who wants to lose excess weight, exercise alone is not enough to reach the desired weight. It is the most effective method in maintaining this order after reaching the desired weight.
Drug Treatment for Obesity
The drugs used in obesity treatment must be determined to be reliable in terms of health, must be approved by the ministry of health, have a causal effect, have no significant side effects, and must not be addictive.
Obesity medications can be used in addition to diet and exercise therapy. Since many deaths due to unconscious drug use are seen today, it is of great importance that such drugs should be used under the advice and control of a physician.
Obesity in Children
Increasingly widespread obesity disease has affected children as well as adults.
The fact that 16.3% of children between the ages of 2 and 19 in the world are obese and this number is increasing day by day has become a public health problem. In order to prevent these increasing data, children must first be under parental control.
Compared to peers, if the child is overweight and the body mass index is higher than it should be, a specialist doctor should be consulted.
Early treatment initiated in children is very important to prevent future diseases. In this process, it is also necessary for parents to support their children in the regulation of eating habits and to encourage them to physical activity.
How can I calculate Obesity?
Many methods have been developed to determine the degree of obesity. Today, the most used method is body mass index. But anyone can easily calculate.
How is obesity calculated by BMI according to the American Health Institute?
It is obtained by dividing the weight of the person (in kg) by the square of his height (in meters).
- If BMI is 20 – 24.9, you are normal,
- If BMI is 25 – 29.9, you are overweight,
- If BMI is 30 – 34.9, you are obese,
- If BMI is 35 – 39.5, you are type II obese,
- If BMI is 40 – 49.9, you are morbidly obese,
- If BMI is 50 and over, you are considered super obese.
Who Is Eligible For Obesity Surgery?
Obesity surgical method is suitable for people who have applied all other treatment methods before surgery but have not been successful.
Patient selection is made according to the body mass index.
- If the body mass index is above 40, the patient can be operated.
- If there is an additional disease between 35 and 40 (hypertension Type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea syndrome, high triglycerides, heart disease, hypoventilation syndrome, fatty liver), surgery may be recommended.
- If the body mass index is between 30 and 35, blood sugar cannot be controlled with medical treatments. Surgery may be recommended for diabetic patients.
What are the types of Surgery for Obesity Treatment?
There are various surgical techniques used in obesity with the developing technology. The choice of surgery is decided by the doctor and the patient together, depending on the patient’s condition.
- Gastric Balloon ( Obesity Surgey kısmındaki aynı isimli içeriğe link verilecek-anchor text yapılacak )
- Gastric Tube ( Obesity Surgey kısmındaki aynı isimli içeriğe link verilecek-anchor text yapılacak )
- Gastric By-Pass ( Obesity Surgey kısmındaki aynı isimli içeriğe link verilecek-anchor text yapılacak) •Duodenal Switch (Obesity Surgey kısmındaki aynı isimli içeriğe link verilecek-anchor text yapılacak )
Mini Gastric By-pass (Obesity Surgey kısmındaki aynı isimli içeriğe link verilecek-anchor text yapılacak )
How to Combat Obesity?
Obesity is among the diseases with the most increasing prevalence in the world. Due to hypertension, type 2 diabetes, hyperlipidemia, ischemic heart disease and similar diseases caused by obesity, the life expectancy of obese patients is approximately 15 years shorter than normal people.
It is also a risk factor for cancers such as obesity, colorectal cancers, breast and prostate cancer.
Therefore, the balance between healthy nutrition and obesity must be well maintained. In addition to the regulation of nutritional and activity habits, the family and the environment of the patient should be informed about this issue.
In order to achieve successful results in obesity, which is a challenging process, the determination of the person is important. Getting information from specialist doctors about obesity and keeping it under constant control during this process will positively affect the treatment.