Now a recognised
medical condition.
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online consultation from rxbank.com for help with your condition.
Please fill in the form and send it to us, then a UK doctor will review it, and offer his
diagnosis, suggesting personalised treatment options just for you.
The information
below acts as a guide.
It is reccomended that you get your free
diagnosis before deciding on anything.
Obesity is
a heavy accumulation of fat in the body's fat cells to such a serious
degree that it rapidly increases the risk of obesity-associated diseases
and mortality. The fat may be equally distributed on the body, on the
stomach or on the hips and thighs. An excellent method to measure obesity
and overweight is the Body Mass Index (BMI). It is calculated as your
weight (in kg) divided by your height (in metres) squared. People of average
weight are considered to have a BMI between 18.5 and 25 (kg/m2), and people
with a BMI of 25 to 30 (kg/m2) are considered overweight, while people
with a BMI of over 30 (kg/m2) are considered obese. Test
your BMI here.
How common
is obesity?
Obesity is found a little more among men than women. Stomach obesity is
more frequent and occurs in 30 per cent of adult men and, to a lesser
degree, in adult women. Obesity and stomach obesity are rapidly increasing,
especially in young people.
What are
the serious obesity-related diseases?
Most importantly, being overweight and obese may cause several psychological
problems like a feeling of inferiority, often caused by discrimination.
Furthermore, many physical problems are related to obesity, like difficulties
in breathing, personal hygiene, pain in the knees and back and skin problems.
People suffering from obesity more frequently have high blood pressure
and diseases related to hardening of the arteries, with blood clots in
the heart and the brain. Other related problems include non-insulin dependent
diabetes, gallstones, some types of cancer, difficulties in mobility and
increased risk of mortality.
What causes obesity?
Obesity can be hereditary, hence some people are at increased risk. However,
obesity only develops from overeating, irregular meals and lack of daily
physical activity. Many people think that when a disease is hereditary,
it is inevitable that you will suffer from the condition but this is not
true. If the people in Europe had grown up in China with plenty of non-fat
foods and hard daily work in the rice fields, only a few of them would
be overweight or fat. It is lifestyle which determines how the genes develop.
Besides genes, food and physical activity, it is possible that other so
far unknown elements may play a part.
When is obesity
dangerous?
With a BMI of more than 25, it is advisable to change lifestyles and lose
weight, especially if it is stomach obesity. Men with a waist circumference
of more than 94cm (37in) and women with a waist of more than 80cm (31.5in)
should not further increase their weight. An increased risk of obesity-related
diseases is present with a waist circumference of more than 102cm (40in)
for men and more than 88cm (34.6in) for women. Test Your BMI
here. If your BMI is more than 30, it is required that
you lose weight.
When is medical
treatment necessary?
Obviously, not everybody needs medical treatment. If an obese patient
loses weight by diet and exercise, there is no need for such treatment.
Furthermore, many people do not want to have medical treatment
The main
problem is to limit the treatment to persons who actually need it such
as:
those
with a BMI of more than 30kg/m2 who have not reduced weight by diet
changes, exercise or lifestyle changes.
those
with BMI of more than 28kg/m2 and the presence of risk elements or complications.
those
with BMI of more than 28kg/m2 who have experienced a previous rapid
increase of weight.
Medication
for obesity is not yet recommended for children.
Which medicines
may be used for medical treatment?
Medications for obesity treatment contribute to weight loss and increase
the number of patients who achieve a weight loss of more than 5 or 10kg.
After the weight loss has been completed, the medicine helps prevent the
patient from regaining the weight.
Medicines
that reduce appetite help the patient eat less and stick to their diet.
They work even without dieting but the loss is larger when there is a
combination of the two. This is possibly due to an increased feeling of
fullness and the reduction in hunger pangs because of the medication.
Some appetite-reducing
medications increase the burning of calories, which intensifies the appetite
reducing effect.
Another type
of medication reduces the fat absorption from the bowels. It is only active
in the bowels and, therefore, doesn't have the typical side effects frequently
seen for appetite-reducing medications. For efficient diets, where patients
with a BMI above 35kg/m2 achieve a weight loss of about 15kg within a
period of six months, appetite reducing medications and other medicines
to treat obesity may contribute to an extra weight loss of 3 to 6kg. Medication
should only be used in a treatment program including diet, exercise and
lifestyle changes.
How to maintain
your weight after loss
Excercise
There are no hard and fast rules to excercising apart from consistency.
Keep things in perspective - make it a gradual process and build on your
success. Keep
an eye on your progress by weighing yourself - but don't get too disheartened
or even give up because the weight isn't coming off after a few weeks.
Diet
A balanced diet does not mean cut out everything containing fats - in
fact, your body needs fat just as much as it needs other forms of energy
to power its demands. Just take a little time out to think about what
you would typically eat in the course of a day or typical week. Are you
getting the right amounts of protein, fat, carbohydrate and vitamins /
minerals?
Remember
that nobody is asking you to follow any strict diet - just to change your
attitude towards what you eat and maybe what you are not eating.
Which
medicines may be used for medical treatment?
Oral Medication
There are a number of oral medications available to help you lose weight.
We can only offer treatments once your FREE consultation form has been
completed, and reviewed by a registered UK doctor. You are under no obligation
to buy any of the treatments that may be suggested to treat your condition.
Click here for a
free online consultation.
Prescription Medicines
For legal reasons, we cannot mention prescription only medicines for obesity
until you complete a consultation
form. This is the only legal way in the UK to obtain
treatment online. There is no obligation to obtain treatment following
a consultation - this is free.
If you require
any advice about specific obesity treatments such as: Xenical or Acomplia
or need advice about slimming pills, weight loss pills, or obesity, please
feel free to contact us.
