Table of Contents
Introduction:
When fat or adipose tissue accumulates in the body excessively or in an abnormal way that affects the human health badly, this case is called obesity. It is an epidemic complex disease with etiology of multifactor. Obesity is considered as the second cause after smoking of the preventable death.
A lot of bad consequences and complications can occur due to obesity. Multipronged strategies for treatment are needed in order to treat obesity. Health, life quality and burden of economy can be improved when weight loss is achieved. Obesity can happen due to several reasons including depression because people become emotionally comforted when eating food.
Antidepressant drugs can increase the risk of obesity. Quieting smoking is good, but it can also increase the risk of obesity. Medications like control pills and steroids also increases the risk of getting obesity.
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Eating not so good diets, becoming older, your genes, life habits, pregnancy, some medical conditions like polycystic ovarian, Prader Willi and Cushing syndromes, osteoarthritis and hypothyroidism can all be strong causes of being obese.
Life habits if improved one can prevent obesity. Making exercises, eating balanced foods between fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fat, carbohydrates and proteins can also help to avoid obesity. Knowing the fact that obesity is linked to more than 60 chronic disease make the individuals aim at not becoming obese by following good habits and lifestyles to avoid obesity.
Waist size increases the chance of the person to be diabetic, Colorado has the lowest obesity rates while the south is known of having the highest obesity rates worldwide. To assess the total body mass, one needs sophisticated techniques, so the BMI was suggested by the WHO to be related to the obesity condition.
Etiology:
Obesity occurs when excess weight is gained due to the imbalance between the daily intake and consumption of energy. A lot of factors can lead to obesity, genetic, cultural and societal factors are the most important factors. Also, little physical activity, dietary habits, disorders of the endocrine system, insomnia, medications, advertising foods and metabolism of energy can be considered as causes of obesity. (Panuganti and Grossman, 2019)
Prader Willi syndrome, MC4R syndromes, fragile X, Bardet-Beidl syndrome, Wilson Turner congenital leptin deficiency and Alstrom syndrome are some of the syndromes associated with obesity. (Panuganti and Grossman, 2019)
Treatment:
When we come to the point of treatment of obesity, we should notice that it causes multiple serious complications so, it demands a multipronged approach for treatment. Treatment varies from an individual to another. The weight loss should be monitored regularly. Secondary causes of obesity also should be treated. This could be done by controlling the diet, interventions like behavior or surgical interventions and medications. Diets of low calories like low carbohydrates and low-fat diets are highly recommended. Low carbohydrate diets are more effective in lowering weight in the first months than low fat diets. (panuganti and Grossman, 2019)
The USPSTF has recommendations for patients suffering from obesity to undergo behavioral interventions intensively. Examples include, motivational interviews, dialectical and cognitive behavior therapies. Psychotherapies also are effective behavior interventions. When diet, exercise and behavior interventions are combined together an amazing result will be obtained. (panuganti and Grossman, 2019)
Medications against obesity have conditions to be used. Among these conditions, the body mass index (BMI) should be greater than or equal to 30 kg/m2 or 27 kg/m2 when comorbidities are found. Combination of medications, diet, behavioral interventions and exercise gives great results. (panuganti and Grossman, 2019)
Phentermine, orlistat, lorcaserin, liraglutide, diethylpropion, phentermine/topiramate, naltrexone/bupropion, phendimetrazine are FDA approved medications against obesity and are used on the long term. Orlistat has no systemic effects as it is absorption is very poor, so it is the perfect and first choice for treating obesity. There is a risk of serotonin syndrome when lorcaserine is used in combination with serotonergic medications so when using these medications lorcaserine should be avoided. (panuganti and Grossman, 2019)
Surgery also has conditions to be done. These conditions include that the (BMI) should be greater than or equal to 40 kg/m2 or 35 kg/m2 with comorbid conditions. The life of the patient changes completely after surgery. He should follow a specific lifestyle, exercises should be extensively done and visiting the doctor regularly is a must. Before surgery the patient must be evaluated to avoid the surgical risks. The most common surgeries include adjusting the gastric banding, sleeve gastrectomy. (panuganti and Grossman, 2019)
The guidelines recommend that if the person fail to accommodate with lifestyle interventions after 6 months of treatment with BMI >30 kg/ m2 and 27 kg/m2 of obesity with associated comorbidities, should take weight loss medication treatment. (Kumar, 2017)
Complications:
Complications associated with obesity are wide and affecting all aspects of the life of the individual and also affects the society. Obesity can cause various comorbidities including diabetes mellitus, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, dyslipidemia, fatty liver due to nonalcoholic causes and dyslipidemia. (kyrou et. al, 2018)
Other diseases include reproductive system impairment, respiratory system dysfunction, psychiatric disorders and some types of cancer.
By 2025 if the current prevalence of obesity persists then the global prevalence of obesity will reach 18% in men and 21 % in women. Obesity is a progressive leading cause of death worldwide. Children, adults and adolescence can suffer from obesity. The world health organization (WHO) categorized obesity as a global epidemic disease. The diseases caused by obesity are strongly correlated to (BMI) as (BMI) increases over 30kg/m2, the risk for developing other related diseases increases. (kyrou et. al, 2018) Obesity can cause also, gall bladder disease, sleep apnea, arthritis, infertility and strokes.
Conclusion:
To conclude, obesity is an epidemic disease with variant causes and multiple approaches for treatment. A lot of factors increase the risk of obesity and should be strictly avoided to avoid the bad complicated comorbidities associated with obesity.
References:
- Panuganti and Grossman, kiran and William, 2019, obesity, retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK459357/?report=classic
- Kyrou et. al, ioannis et. al, 2018, clinical problems caused by obesity, retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK278973/?report=classic
- Kumar, Rekha, 2017, pharmacological treatment of obesity, retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279038/?report=classic
