Obesity Management: All You Need To Know

The human body is a complex machine. It requires energy to function. This energy comes from the food you eat. When you start taking more food than the requirement of your body, the excess amount starts getting stored inside your body. This excess amount of calories is stored in the form of fat which causes an abnormal rise in body weight and this condition is termed as obesity. 

Obesity is a health condition that is considered responsible for causing several other diseases. Two of the most commonly found diseases in people with obesity are heart diseases and diabetes. Living with obesity can also have a severe impact on your daily life. It can cause laziness and depression. Even if it does not cause any other disease, it can still prove to be dangerous in several ways. 

In this article, we will take a look at some of the common causes and symptoms of obesity. We will also go over how it is diagnosed and how it can be treated. 

Causes of Obesity

There are several different causes of obesity. Some of them are mentioned below:

• Having obesity in your genes
• Consuming unhealthy food in excess
• Living a sedentary lifestyle
• Not getting enough sleep
• Having chronic stress or tension
• Side effects from medications
• Suffering from health conditions like PCOS, hypothyroidism, insulin resistance or Cushing’s syndrome

Symptoms of Obesity

Unlike many other diseases, obesity develops over time and the progression is very visible. Some symptoms of obesity are as under: 

• Sudden increase in body weight especially around waist
• Feeling hungry all the time
• Eating a lot but not being satisfied
• Feeling tired all the time
• Pain in bones and joints
• Sweating profusely
• Shortness of breath
• Difficulty falling asleep

These symptoms are signs that help doctors in identifying that you are on your way to becoming obese. If you see any of these symptoms within yourself, that’s the time when you must consult a nutritionist or obesity specialist and start taking your health seriously. 

Management of Obesity

There are several different treatments available for people to manage obesity:

• Healthy Diet: One such treatment is to follow a diet plan. Some popular diet plans that help people with obesity are:

1. High protein diet
2. Low carb diet
3. Ketogenic diet
4. Fruits and egg diet

Even though these diets work for many people, it can be very hard to keep up with these diets and even harder to sustain the weight loss and prevent weight regain after completing the diet plan. One must have a strong willpower to continue the diet throughout.

• Physical Activity: Other than these diets, working out and being active also is also important to help treat obesity. Exercise can help you burn calories and is beneficial for overall health.

• Medications: At times when people are still unable to lose their weight after following dietary restrictions and working out and they are also at risk of developing diseases like high blood pressure or diabetes, doctors may recommend certain anti-obesity medications to aid weight loss and prevent obesity. Many advances are happening in this space with new medications becoming more and more effective and safe to use. These medications generally work by increasing satiety and reducing hunger levels, so you feel more full and eat less calories, thereby reducing weight.

• Surgery: In cases of extreme or morbid-obesity where lifestyle changes and medications are not enough, bariatric surgery is the final recommendation to provide weight loss and manage serious health risk. Some surgical interventions are gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy, and biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch.

Conclusion

All in all, obesity can be a very dangerous and serious disease but by taking timely action, adopting a healthy lifestyle, and seeking professional help from obesity specialists when necessary you can definitely manage it well and live a healthier life. 

You can consult the best doctors for obesity management in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad through oladoc.com.