Obesity

Obesity - Leading Preventable Cause for Death

Obesity is a leading preventable cause for death. It is estimated that at any given time about 45% of women and 25% of men are trying to lose weight, of which only 20% use the recommended combination of fewer calories and increased exercise because obesity and overweight are seldom thought to be a disease.

Generally though of as an unhealthy physical condition, people are now becoming aware that obesity is much more in magnitude as a disease. Obesity and overweight, the cause for many other diseases, is slowly but steadily taking larger chunks of population in its grip. The negative lifestyle changes are largely to blame for this.

Obesity is fast racing towards becoming an epidemic and may soon displace tobacco as a leading preventable cause of death worldwide. It is time that nations wake up to the threat of being overweight. All it needs is a relentless and far-sighted effort on the part of every individual if this enemy – obesity and overweight – have to be confronted.

A well-balanced diet and extensive physical activity are the best weight loss pills. Regrettably, not many people understand the value of this. Shortcuts are the order of the day, and most people would rather take weight loss pills. However, these drugs may work very well for some but a positive lifestyle changes can go a long way in maintaining a healthy weight in the future.

Obesity Treatment by Medication

As known to everyone today, eating in moderation and increased physical activity are a safe way of staying healthy. Yet, certain people do exist who have difficulty losing weight through diet and activity alone. In such cases, obesity treatment would be required which normally includes weight reduction pills.

Prescription medication is by far the most widely used obesity treatment. With one exception, all medications used to treat weight gain work as appetite suppressants which work by increasing the levels of serotonin or norepinephrine, the brain chemicals that affect both mood and appetite. .

The exception is Xenical which works in the intestines and prevents 30% of the fat from food from being absorbed by the body. Excretion of these fats thus lowers one’s calorie intake. But medications work best in an environment that is conducive to lifestyle changes. Like all medications, obesity treatment drugs also bring on a fair share of side effects and other undesirable risks.

Obesity treatment medications should be used under the guidance of a medical professional by people who have a BMI of more than 27 or greater with or without risk factors like high blood pressure or high cholesterol. It is not advisable to use these medications for relatively minor or cosmetic weight loss. The newer obesity treatment medications now in use may be used for a year or more but studies to confirm their long-term side effects is still on.

Sibutramine is not for childhood obesity

Although, Sibutramine is used in obese children, it is not considered to be a safe drug for children. Having undergone limited to short-term evaluations, supportive data for longer-term use (up to two years) however exists only for adults. Therefore, nothing can be conclusively said about adolescents gaining similar benefits. Obesity being a chronic condition, it is important to assess the long-term effects of drug therapy on children.

In fact, recently published recommendations and commentaries by experts suggest that routine pharmacotherapy must not be employed in pediatric patients, until additional data from larger and longer trials become available. Moreover, doctors pondering over prescribing this medication should consider their potential for significant adverse effects that might be gravely enhanced in adolescents.