Obesity is now regarded as a pandemic in the United States. Millions of people are overweight, and this can cause some serious health issues. Obesity can potentially contribute to death in some cases as well. Obesity is a very common issue for many reasons. As new technology has removed the need for people to physically exert themselves, many people are becoming very sedentary. Furthermore, the excessive consumption of fast food, soft drinks and highly-refined, packaged foods that are filled with sugar, has caused a serious increase in the average weight of adults in the country.
Obesity
In fact, obesity is such a serious issue nowadays that many people opt for treatment and medication. The branch of medicine that deals with treating obesity is known as bariatric medicine. The most important part of bariatrics is to first find the cause of obesity, and then provide the right treatment. The demand for bariatrics has grown considerably in the past few years as more and more people have begun to qualify as obese.
A growing number of children are also developing obesity, and both adults and children have difficulty in losing the weight on their own. Many people try various kinds of fad diets in the hope of losing weight quickly, only to find that their weights “yo-yo” and they never really achieve a stable, healthy weight. Instead, they end up with increased weight or get back to their original weight after stopping the diet. On the other hand, those who have undergone bariatric surgery, have noticed significant loss of weight and an improvement in psychological health.
Treatments
There are many different ways by which a doctor can treat obesity in a patient. Bariatric medicine recommends using non-invasive treatment methods as much as possible. These include diet, behavioral therapy and exercise. However, in some cases, the doctor might recommend taking anti-obesity drugs as well. It should be known that the most successful way of curing obesity in a person is to bring about a change in the person’s lifestyle. Numerous studies have shown that medical therapy has had variable success in the long term. Many bariatric doctors try to get their patients to have healthier lifestyles.
In some cases, weight loss surgery is the only option. The doctor will recommend surgery only if the patient does not show favorable results to other types of treatment methods. Many people who are extremely obese have issues in changing their lifestyle. In order to kick-start the weight loss process, the doctor may have no other option but to perform a surgery. Liposuction may also be necessary in order to reduce the amount of fat in a person’s body. These are just some aspects of bariatric medicine.
