What is it?
Weight loss is extremely important in overweight and obese patients, especially in those with associated comorbidities, but also in those who do not have test alterations, since an association has already been found between BMI above 24.9 kg/m². Both diseases continue to have increasing prevalence even with guidelines recommendations, which include weight loss.
What are the benefits of weight loss?
For overweight and obese individuals, studies show that two years of lifestyle interventions can facilitate a weight loss of at least 5% and that, although weight gain occurs, diet and exercise interventions have substantial effects on comorbidities associated with obesity and body composition, being associated with a substantial reduction in visceral and hepatic fat, that are very dangerous to health when accumulated. When in caloric deficit and practicing exercises, the organs respond by secreting biochemical substances that contribute to the transformation of white adipose tissue into brown, which makes the production of heat and can aid in fat loss.
How to perform weight loss in a sustained and healthy way?
The two main pillars for a weight loss are caloric restriction, which does not mean a total food restriction for the patient, and physical exercise, preferably some that is of interest to the practitioner. It is important that both diet and training are adjusted to the preferences of the person who wants to lose weight, as this facilitates the maintenance of healthy habits in a sustained manner, for months and even years. Weight losses performed with very restrictive diets that do not contain foods that are to the patient’s taste tend to have their result lost due to lack of treatment adhering.
Do thermogenics aid in weight loss?
Nowadays, there is a wide range of supplements with thermogenic ingredients available on the market, such as those that include caffeine, green tea, capsaicin, among others. These ingredients actually have positive effects on metabolism, but of little expressive magnitude, and it is still unclear whether these effects are significant enough to help people lose weight or body fat. In isolation, without lifestyle change, diet with caloric deficit and physical activity, they do not have enough effect to lose weight an individual.
References
Reading suggestion:
Have you heard about weight loss beyond caloric deficit?
ATAKAN, Muhammed Mustafa et al. The role of exercise, diet, and cytokines in preventing obesity and improving adipose tissue
. Nutrients, v. 13, n. 5, p. 1459, 2021.
