What is it?
According to the WHO, by 2022 more than 1 billion people in the world were in a state of obesity. Such pathology is characterized from BMI subdividing into three categories; grade I obesity (30 to 34.9kg/m2); grade II obesity (35 to 39.9kg/m2) and grade III ≥ 40 (kg/m2).
How does obesity occur?
One of the mechanisms of development of obesity is the positive energy balance for a prolonged period of time, which generates the production and accumulation of fat in adipocytes. The state of hypernutrition leads to resistance to insulin action, reduction of glucose oxidation and if combined with the reduction of energy expenditure, it further favors the obesogenic environment.
How does obesity work?
Obesity is a chronic non-communicable disease (NCD) of multifactorial origin expressed by excessive accumulation of adipose tissue. It is the result of the interaction between lifestyle, genetic, environmental and metabolic factors, whose treatment is complex and multiprofessional. Such excess body fat can be located in the abdominal area that is more related to metabolic complications or may be localized in a generalized manner throughout the body. In this sense, in addition to the isolated BMI, a complete anamnesis is necessary that includes anthropometry to obtain data such as waist circumference, hip and from this the determination of risk.
How to treat?
The treatment of obesity is complex and involves many pathways, in addition to the traditional nutritional treatment of caloric restriction and physical exercises. When necessary, the doctor may indicate drug treatment for the patient, such as Ozempic and Saxenda, medications released by ANVISA that act complementaryly in the treatment, by promoting reduced appetite, less fat absorption and consequentweight loss. Since this condition is usually associated with other diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia, which have a great influence on the decline in the patient’s quality of life. In addition, bariatric surgeries can also be auxiliary tools.
Reference
Caballero B. (2019). Humans against Obesity: Who Will Win?. Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.), 10(suppl_1), S4–S9. https://doi.org/10.1093/advances/nmy055
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