Weight Loss Treatment: Diet, Exercise, and Surgery

Weight loss treatment can be grouped into

1. Lifestyle modification through diet and exercise.
2. Pharmacotherapy
3. Surgery

Lifestyle modification through diet and exercise.

1. It is the preferred method of weight loss for overweight people (BMI 23-27 kg.m^two) or have obesity class 1 (BMI 27 -32 kg/m^two). Your goal is a modest weight loss of 5-10% of body weight in 6 months. The goal for weight loss should be 2 kg every month.

The diet should be restricted to 1,000-1,200 kcal/day for women and 1,200-1,600 kcal/day for men. This would help induce a calorie deficit of around 500-1000 kcal/day and help in the weight loss goals mentioned above without causing too much hunger.

The diet should be low in saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, added sugars, and salt.

Foods to avoid include fried foods, bakery products, refined flours, sweets, red meat, egg yolks, and whole milk and its derivatives.

Allowable foods include fried/grilled foods, lean meats, egg whites, skim milk, leafy green vegetables, citrus fruits, and whole grain cereals and breads.

Exercise should be aerobic with moderate weight training. About 300 minutes of exercise per week is recommended for people who want to achieve a >5% reduction in body weight. This exercise plan should be started gradually and initially performed in 10-15 minute intervals to avoid fatigue. Daily activity level should be increased and exercises such as brisk walking, jogging, bicycling, dancing or swimming should be incorporated into the routine.

Behavioral changes include changing your environment to limit food intake and increase activity level, keeping a food diary, self-motivation and support, as well as rewarding yourself with something other than food.

weight loss medications

Weight-loss medications may be indicated for people who are overweight or obese but cannot achieve their goals through diet and exercise. It is important to remember that all medications can have some side effects and should be taken short-term only with a prescription from a registered physician.

1. Sibutramine: This drug has resulted in 5-10 pound weight loss, but it also causes serious side effects and was therefore withdrawn from the market.
2. Orlistat: Reduces the amount of fat that is absorbed through food and can be taken three times a day with meals. It causes up to 8-10% weight loss after a year of regular treatment, but can cause side effects such as stomach cramps, gas, and oily stools in some people. It has also been linked to liver disease in some cases.
3. Lorcraserin – Reduces appetite and the results are almost similar to orlistat but it has other side effects like nasophyngitis, headache, respiratory infections, etc. It should not be administered to patients with reduced renal function or to pregnant women.
4. phentermine

Other products such as ephedra, chromium, diuretics, herbal laxatives, and hoodia have been linked to weight loss, but there is no strong scientific evidence that these products actually help reduce body weight in the long term .

Surgery

This is only an effective treatment for effective long-term weight loss in morbidly obese individuals (BMI > 32 kg/m2 with associated comorbidities or BMI > 37 kg/m2 with or without comorbidities)