What is severe obesity?
When obesity is so severe that it threatens one’s health and affects the lifespan of the individual then it is morbid or severe obesity. This condition includes three times as many women as men. It is much more than a cosmetic predicament. At the minimum it markedly affects quality of life. For some people, it’s a matter of life and death.
What are the problems associated with severe obesity?
This condition is associated with the development of life threatening complications such as high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, arthritis, sleep disorder, infertility, stroke, heart attack and cancer.
What causes severe obesity?
The cause of obesity is poorly understood and many factors are involved. The set point of stored energy is too high. This altered set point may result from a low metabolism with low energy expenditure, excessive caloric intake, or a combination of the above. There is scientific data that suggests obesity may be an inherited characteristic.
Is severe obesity due to lack of self control?
This condition is most likely a result of a combination of genetic, psychological, environmental, social and cultural influences that interact resulting in this complex disorder of both appetite regulation and energy metabolism. Severe obesity does not appear to be a simple lack of self -control by the patient.
What are the treatment options?
The medical options available are as follows
• Diet – low in calories, fat and carbohydrates
• Exercise – 40 minutes 5 times per week
• Behavior Modification – eat 3 sensible meals per day, avoid snacking
• Drugs/Prescription medications - Stimulants/appetite suppressants
– Antidepressants
– Reduce fat absorption
What is the success rate of medical treatment?
• Most patients (95-97%) regain most or all of the weight that was lost within 2-5 years following diet or drug treatment
• The average amount of weight loss is relatively small – 5 to 10Kg
• Drug therapy may be associated with severe complications
• Very difficult for most people to maintain these programs in the long term
• “Yo-Yo” effect of many different programs leads to significant weight fluctuations
Is surgery an option for Obesity?
Surgery has proven to be the MOST effective method to treat severe obesity.
According to the National Institute of Health (USA), patients who have been unsuccessful at losing weight using medical treatments such as Diet, Exercise and medications, surgery is the treatment of choice and the only treatment that has been proven to be successful in the long term.
Is obesity surgery cosmetic type surgery?
No. Surgery for the treatment of obesity is only appropriate for those individuals who are considered to have severe obesity.
Is Surgery for obesity a new invention?
Obesity surgery has been actively practiced by surgeons in the U.S. since the 1960’s. Recently, techniques in Laparoscopic and Minimally Invasive surgery have caused a dramatic increase in the number of weight loss surgeries being performed in the United States.
Dr Ravindran Kumeran FRCS
Obesity Foundation India