2/3 Of Americans are Overweight or Obese. It costs 147 Billion dollars a year for health care cost due to complications from Obesity. Obesity is defined by a BMI of 30 or more. Studies have shown a close relationship between weight and medical comorbidities. Weight is a sensitive topic for many people. Being overweight or Obese affects your quality of life and limits your health and activities.
Complications due to Obesity
- High Blood Pressure
- Diabetes Mellitus
- High Cholesterol
- Heart Attack
- Heart Failure
- Sleep Apnea
- Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
- Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
- Venous Stasis
- Acid Reflux
- Urinary Incontinence
- Degenerative Joint disease (Arthritis)
- Infertility
- Migraines
- Depression
- Stroke
- Gall Bladder Disease
- Certain type of Cancers
- And many more………………………………………………..
Lifestyle Modifications
Diet and Exercise are the cornerstone in the management of obesity. Without changing your diet and activity level, any other medications or surgeries that you pursue will only provide a short term weight loss.
Diet
Reducing the daily calorie intake by 500 Kcal/ day itself can help you lose weight when done in a consistent manner. One needs to cut down 3500 Kcal to lose 1 lb of weight. Daily calorie requirement for women is 1200 – 1500 Kcal / day and for men 1500 – 1800 Kcal / day. There are many popular diet programs available (Intermittent fasting, Mediterranean diet, Keto diet, Atkins, South beach diet etc) , however no diet is shown to be superior than other.
So pick a diet that you can adhere to and stick to it for better results.
Exercise
Any exercise is better than no exercise! Burning 3500 KCal helps you lose 1 lb of weight. Minimum requirement for healthy lifestyle is at least 150 mins of Aerobic activity such as running, swimming, Cycling per week and resistance training such as weight lifting, Squats, etc at least twice a week.
There are many variety of exercise activities available including but not limited to Boot camp, Yoga, Pilates, Zumba, Martial Arts, spinning class etc. Pick something that interests you and be compliant with it. It will not only help with weight loss but also help with increasing mobility and quality of life.
Medications for Weight loss
Medications alone is NEVER the answer for weight loss. If you think you can lose weight and maintain it just by taking 1 more medication, you will be disappointed very early. Medication gives a boost to help lose weight when you combine it with lifestyle modifications. Anything that you put in your body can give you some side effects. It is important to weigh the risks and the benefits prior to deciding the best option for you.
Mediculous 