Obesity can be treated with diet, regular physical exercise or the use of medication prescribed by your doctor to help reduce appetite and binge eating. In some cases, bariatric surgery may also be indicated, as it reduces the absorption of food through the gastrointestinal tract, promoting weight loss.
The main objective of these treatments is to achieve and maintain a healthy weight, avoiding the development of complications such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, gastroesophageal reflux, osteoarthritis, impotence or infertility, for example. See all the complications of obesity and how to avoid them.
The treatment of obesity must be carried out by a multidisciplinary team containing an endocrinologist, nutritionist, bariatric surgeon and physical educator. Furthermore, it is also important to follow up with a psychologist to identify behaviors that can cause binge eating or to help you not give up on treatment.
Which doctor to consult
The best doctor to evaluate each case and advise the best treatment for obesity is the endocrinologist. However, it is common for a multidisciplinary team to be required, which also includes a nutritionist, physical educator and, in some cases, a bariatric surgeon.
If you are interested in consulting an endocrinologist, use our tool to find the doctor closest to you, simply and quickly:
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Main treatments for obesity
The main treatments for obesity recommended by doctors are:
1. Diet changes
The first step, both to treat and prevent obesity, is to make changes to your diet, including a balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, fiber and water, as advised by your doctor and nutritionist.
These changes in the diet allow you to control the consumption of calories consumed during the day, which must be less than what is spent to maintain the body’s metabolism, being calculated according to the usual diet, the amount of weight that needs to be lost, in addition to age, sex, height and current weight.
Use the calculator to find out how many calories you should eat per day:
Long-term constant weight loss is considered the safest way to lose weight and maintain the weight you have achieved permanently, as drastic changes such as extreme diets can produce quick results, but you will probably gain weight back faster as well. Check out a diet to lose weight in a healthy way.
2. Practice physical activities
Practicing physical activities, such as walking or swimming, for example, is another essential part of treating obesity, as it helps to increase the body’s metabolism, favoring energy expenditure and burning calories, facilitating weight loss.
To lose weight, it is recommended to do 150 to 300 minutes of physical activity per week, and it is essential to have a medical evaluation before starting the exercises to assess your health status, in addition to having the guidance of a physical educator to avoid injuries, for example . Check out the best exercises to lose weight.
Furthermore, small changes in lifestyle habits, such as reducing car use or replacing the elevator with stairs, for example, also help with greater calorie expenditure and weight loss. See other ways to move more in your daily life to help treat obesity.
3. Obesity remedies
The use of medicines to treat obesity is recommended by the doctor when the person has a BMI greater than 30kg/m2IMC greater than 27kg/m2 and who have other related diseases, such as diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure, and also in cases of people with any type of obesity who are unable to lose weight with diet and exercise.
The main remedies indicated for the treatment of obesity are:
- Appetite suppressants, such as sibutramine, amfepramone or fenproporex, as they act directly on the satiety center in the brain, reducing appetite, which reduces calorie consumption throughout the day and helps with weight loss;
- Fat absorption reducers, such as orlistat, which act by inhibiting some enzymes in the intestine, which blocks the absorption of part of the fat in food, reducing the amount of calories ingested per day;
- CB-1 receptor antagonist, such as rimonabant, which acts directly on the brain, inhibiting appetite, increasing satiety and reducing binge eating;
- Thermogenics, such as ephedrine, which act by accelerating metabolism, causing the body to use accumulated fat as its main source of energy.
Furthermore, there are also medications used to treat other diseases that can help combat obesity, such as antidepressants, and some examples are fluoxetine, sertraline or bupropion.
Medicines to treat obesity should only be used with medical advice, as they require attention and regular monitoring, due to the risk of side effects, such as increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, headache, diarrhea, mood changes, irritability , anxiety or insomnia, for example.
4. Bariatric surgery
Bariatric surgery is recommended by the doctor in cases of morbid obesity, with a BMI greater than 40kg/m2or moderate obesity, with a BMI greater than 35 mg/m2in people who have diseases caused by obesity such as diabetes, sleep apnea, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cardiovascular diseases, stroke, arrhythmias or osteoarthritis.
The main types of bariatric surgery are:
- Gastric band: an adjustable band is placed around the stomach, reducing its size and helping the person eat less;
- Bypass gastric: The size of the stomach is reduced and the intestine is altered, which is directly connected to the small stomach, which reduces the person’s ability to eat large meals, leading to weight loss. Find out how it is done and what recovery from surgery is like. bypass gastric;
- Biliopancreatic diversion: it is done by removing a large part of the stomach and connecting the stomach with the final part of the small intestine;
- Sleeve gastric: The left part of the stomach is removed, which causes a decrease in the stomach’s capacity to store food.
The type of surgery indicated for each person is decided by the patient together with the gastric surgeon, who assesses each person’s needs and the procedure that may best suit them.
Watch the video below and learn more about bariatric surgery:
Tips for not giving up on treatment
Obesity treatment is not easy to comply with because it involves changing eating habits and lifestyles that the patient has had throughout their life, so some tips to help you not give up on treatment can be:
- Establish weekly goals that are possible to achieve;
- Ask the nutritionist to adjust the diet if it is too difficult to follow;
- Choose a physical exercise that you enjoy most, and practice it regularly;
- Record the results, writing down measurements on paper or with weekly photographs.
It is important to remember that there are free weight loss programs, which are carried out by university hospitals with an endocrinology service, and it is possible to find out about referrals and consultations at the health center.
