Which obesity treatment is safe for health? How to effectively treat obesity?

Obesity is one of the causes of reducing life expectancy and quality of life and increasing the risk of many dangerous diseases. Obesity is becoming more and more common and obesity treatment is a topic of great interest and research.

How to treat obesity in adults?

Cut calories in your daily diet

Diet plays an important role in weight management. Therefore, treating obesity by adjusting the diet is one of the first methods applied to reduce excess fat and reduce energy intake. In obese patients with a BMI over 35 or a BMI over 30 with diabetes, the goal is to lose up to 15-20% of body weight when dieting.

Currently, there are several diets for the treatment of obesity in adults:

According to the latest researches, a correct diet has a high weight loss effect when combining a diet that reduces energy and reduces dietary fat.

Low energy diet

Energy expenditure – energy intake must be at least 500 Calories/day to have a weight loss effect. A reduced-fat diet means a reduced energy source from fat: fat should be low. For Vietnamese people should consume fat at the low threshold of the recommended need: About 15% of dietary energy from fat. There are few saturated fatty acids (from animal fats), many unsaturated fatty acids with 1 double bond and many double bonds (from vegetable oils).

Very low calorie diet

Energy expenditure – Energy intake = 500-1000Kcal/day. This will lead to a 10% body weight loss in 6 months . The method should pay attention to reducing the energy of the diet step by step, each week reducing about 300 Calories compared to the current diet until the energy reduction corresponds to the BMI level.

When a diet has a reduction in energy between expenditure and intake >1000Kcal, it is called a very low energy diet.

This diet must provide the body with all the necessary nutrients: vitamins, minerals, amino acids and essential fatty acids: 0.8 – 1.5g protein/kg body weight is needed. ideal/day, meeting the subject’s energy needs to maintain health and work capacity.

The implementation of a very low energy diet should only last 12-16 weeks to achieve effective weight loss, then depending on your health status and obesity level, you need to consult a nutritionist for guidance. further treatment.

Very low calorie diets are very effective in losing weight very quickly. The average rate of loss in 12-16 weeks is about 20kg, the fatter the person, the more weight will be lost.

However, following a very low energy diet has its drawbacks:

• Difficult to do, need high willpower, in this phase of diet must not be under high work pressure.
• Possible side effects of rapid weight loss: Hyperuricemia, gout, bladder stones and cardiovascular complications.

Therefore, only very low-calorie diets should be used in obese patients (BMI>30) and especially those with comorbidities such as type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, and sleep apnea. doctor’s supervision.

Read more: 8 causes of obesity that put you at high risk

Physical activity

Besides energy intake, energy expenditure is also very important for people with obesity. For obese patients, physical inactivity or sedentary lifestyle is very easy to increase the risk of other diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Physical activity, regular exercise combined with a scientific diet will increase the effectiveness of weight loss. The weight loss effect of physical activity varies depending on the level and duration of exercise.

Physical activity and a reduced-calorie diet have the advantage of being relatively safe for health, requiring no surgery and having few side effects.

In addition, many studies have demonstrated that increased physical activity in overweight and obese adults reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease regardless of how much weight is lost.

Sleep is also a thing to pay attention to: get enough sleep, ensure 7-9 hours / day. Obese people should not sleep too little (especially in children because there is a link between less sleep and more weight gain) but also should not sleep too much.

Read more: Staying up late causes obesity

Taking obesity medicine

Because the market for weight loss pills is very complex, we should treat it at the discretion of a specialist and must strictly follow the indications for taking the drug. People who are being treated for obesity should always keep in mind:

• Therapeutic drugs must be used in conjunction with adopting a scientific lifestyle of eating and exercising. Medicines are intended only to help the patient follow an appropriate diet, exercise, and behavioral change principles.
• Weight control pills do not treat obesity, once the medication is stopped, the weight will return. Must be used under the direction of a doctor and under the supervision of a specialist.
• Drugs must be considered at each stage of a long course of treatment, must be individually prescribed by the doctor. Risk factors for drug therapy must be considered for prevention in cases of long-term obesity.
• Drugs for the treatment of obesity in adults should only be continued if safety and efficacy are considered in that patient. According to British scientists, the condition to continue if the drug is used for > 3 months, the weight loss effect is at least 10%.

Indications for medication (WHO 2000): Consideration should be given to pharmacological treatment of obesity when the patient:

• Having BMI ≥ 30 and unsuccessful treatment with diet, exercise, and behavior change.
• Or have BMI ≥ 25 with comorbidities such as impaired glucose tolerance, dyslipidemia, hypertension, or many complications due to obesity have appeared such as osteoarthritis, sleep apnea …

Read more: No one expected that a double chin could affect your life

Orlistat . obesity drug

What is Orlistat?

Orlistat is an obesity medication that contains a compound that inhibits lipase, an enzyme that hydrolyzes fat in the stomach and pancreas to reduce the body’s absorption of dietary fat. Since then, the fat in the food (in the form of triglycerides) is not hydrolyzed, so the body cannot absorb it. The body restricts the amount of calories ingested from the diet, bringing positive effects in weight loss and weight control. Orlistat does not block the absorption of calories from sugar and fat-free foods. So you still need to limit your total calorie intake .

Orlistat is often indicated in combination with a slightly reduced calorie diet for the treatment of obesity and the prevention of weight gain in patients with a body mass index (BMI) 30 kg/m² or patients with overweight (BMI ≥ 28kg/m²) with risk factors (eg, high blood pressure, diabetes, hyperlipidemia).

Dosage and administration of Orlistat

People with obesity should take Orlistat before eating. The drug is used 3 times a day, if treatment with the drug after 12 weeks but does not bring positive results, does not lose at least 5% of weight, it is necessary to consult a doctor to consider stopping treatment. Note that the drug is only for adults and children over 12 years old.

Common side effects

During treatment with Orlistat, patients may experience the following side effects:

– Digestive disorders

– Diarrhea, bowel incontinence

– Bloating and greasy stools

– Nausea, abdominal pain, dark urine, yellow eyes, yellow skin.

Symptoms of kidney stones such as back pain, pain when urinating, pink urine, blood …

There is also the possibility of a serious but very rare allergic reaction including: rash, itching, swelling of the face, tongue, throat, severe dizziness, difficulty breathing, etc.

Headache, anxiety, fatigue, rectal bleeding and irregular periods. However, these are rare side effects.

If you notice any of the above effects, contact your doctor right away to make sure it’s safe.

Advice on medication

You should definitely consult your doctor before using the obesity drug Orlistat.

This obesity treatment drug is not suitable for people with hypersensitivity to Orlistat and its components. The product should not be used by people with chronic malabsorption syndromes or cholestasis or patients with a history of hyperoxaluria, calcium oxalate stones in the kidney, hypothyroidism, some eating disorders (anorexia nervosa). / binge eating syndrome), HIV infection, convulsions, etc. This drug is not for pregnant or lactating women. Patients should also avoid taking the drug with cyclosporin.

Besides taking Orlistat, people with obesity should supplement with fat-soluble vitamins including A, D, E, K to provide the necessary nutrients for the body. Because Orlistat may decrease the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins. Obese patients should take vitamin supplements at least 2 hours before or after taking Orlistat.

While using Orlistat for obesity, patients should follow a nutritionally balanced and slightly reduced calorie diet. Patients need to distribute the amount of fat, carbohydrate and protein allowed to eat evenly in 3 meals. Each meal should have no more than 30% of calories coming from fat to limit the possible side effects of using the drug.

What to do in case of missed dose or overdose?

In case the patient misses a dose, take it immediately unless it has been 1-2 hours since eating because most of the fat from your meal has been absorbed and the medicine will not work. If it is more than 1-2 hours after the last meal, skip the missed dose and take the medicine at the next regular time. Note that absolutely do not take a double dose the next time you take it.

If you accidentally overdose and develop symptoms such as fainting or shortness of breath, go to the nearest medical facility and bring a pack of pills for timely treatment.

In addition, if the patient’s meal does not contain fat or skips a meal, the medicine does not need to be used for that meal.

Read more: 4 basic principles of the eat clean diet

Scientific diets, cutting calories and physical exercise are safe ways to treat obesity. Therefore, obese people should begin with a diet and exercise program before starting Orlistat or any other medication to treat obesity. While taking the drug, obese people should continue to follow a healthy diet and be physically active.

With the above information, we hope you have more useful information to treat obesity or obesity medicine and get the right weight. Wish you safe weight loss and soon have a desired physique.