Symptoms
Obesity manifests itself in an excessive amount of fatty tissue in the body. It represents a health, aesthetic, and psychosocial problem. Obesity is a risk factor for numerous diseases such as metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dyslipidemia, cardiovascular disease, cancer, hormonal disorders, fatty liver, and osteoarthritis.
Causes
Obesity is primarily a disease of civilization due to our sedentary lifestyle with too little exercise and food excess. Energy intake is higher than energy consumption. Food is available anytime, anywhere, in large portions and at low cost. Added to this is the high energy density of food and sweet drinks. For example, 1 liter of Coca-Cola contains about 26 sugar cubes (Switzerland, 1 sugar cube = 4 g). A single Snickers bar contains 300 kcal, which is equivalent to about 4-5 apples. The development of obesity is multifactorial, that is, dependent on various factors:
- Physical inactivity
- Dietary habits (malnutrition, eating disorders), lifestyle.
- Age
- Inheritance
- Metabolism
- Stress
- Cultural and psychosocial factors, social environment.
- Medication: e.g. antidepressants, psychotropic drugs, contraceptives, glucocorticoids, antiepileptic drugs.
- Stop smoking
- Diseases
Diagnosis
Diagnosis is made in medical treatment based on the patient’s history, a general examination, with imaging techniques, by body mass index (BMI) and abdominal circumference, among others. BMI is calculated as follows: BMI = body weight in kg / (body length in m) squared. If the value is between 25.0 and 29.0 in adults, it is called overweight. From a BMI of ≥ 30.0, obesity is present. Also used is abdominal circumference, which is measured at the level of the belly button:
| Abdominal obesity | Abdominal obesity | |
| Men | over 94 cm | over 102 cm |
| Women | over 80 cm | over 88 cm |
Another option is the ratio between the circumference of the waist and the hips (waist-to-hip ratio).
Non-drug treatment
Losing weight in the short term is comparatively easy. The challenge, however, is to eat and exercise in a way that makes you feel good and keeps your weight at a consistently good level over the longer term. For detailed information on this topic, see the article Yo-Yo Effect.
- Behavioral changes (lifestyle changes).
- Physical activity and sports
- Healthy diet: eat breakfast, less fat, sugar and sweets, more fruits and vegetables, smaller portions, no sweet drinks, drink enough water, only moderate alcohol consumption.
- Surgical intervention: e.g. gastric banding (for obesity).
- Support groups, counseling
Important is not a possible rapid weight loss with a diet, but a longer-term change, with which the affected feel comfortable and with which they can identify. So, for example, make the way to work by bike or always take a lot of salad and vegetables in the plate when eating.
Drug treatment
Slimming drugs (antiadiposita) are available for the drug treatment of obesity. Currently, no miracle drug exists that would provide rapid, sustained drug therapy with few side effects. In many countries Orlistat (Xenical, Generika) and Liraglutid (Saxenda) are certified as medicaments. In addition, other products are available. They are presented under the article Slimming Products.
