Overweight/Obesity

Obesity is one of the most common chronic conditions and is a risk factor for many other chronic diseases.

Obesity is expanding at an alarming rate as a major health concern throughout the world.

Obesity can be caused by many factors. Some of the more common causes are listed below.

• Energy Imbalance: Obesity happens gradually if the amount of energy or calories you consume is more than the amount of energy spent on your daily activities.
• Sedentary Lifestyle: People leading an inactive or sedentary lifestyle are more likely to become obese as they do not burn down the calories they consume.
• Environmental factors: Lack of safe places for exercising and walking (sidewalks or parks), busy work schedule, eating larger food portions, and junk food are contributing factors to gain weight.
• Family history: The genes inherited from your parents have an effect the amount of fat stored in your body and your chances of being obese is higher if one or both your parents are obese. Obesity tends to run in families. This could be related to your genes but it could also be related to behaviors and thinking patterns that you were taught as a child. While genes cannot be changed, through various lifestyle changes you can change how often those genes are expressed, or “read” by your body.
• Disease conditions: Hormonal disorders such as hypothyroidism, Cushing’s syndrome, and polycystic ovarian syndrome may cause weight gain and are included in our initial screening for all of our patients.
• Medicines: Certain medicines such as corticosteroids, antidepressants and seizure medications are known to decrease the rate of metabolism, increase your appetite and retain excess water in the body leading to weight gain.
• Emotional factors: Unusual eating habits such as excessive eating when under stress or anger. Overeating will cause weight gain.
• Age: Aging results in muscle loss in the body which is even more if you are inactive. Muscle loss reduces the calorie consumption and consequently uncontrolled diet may increase the chances of becoming obese.

Consequences

If you are obese, severely obese, or morbidly obese, you may have the following health consequences:

• Major health consequences
  • Premature death (shorter life expectancy): Obese people have a 50% to 100% increased risk of premature death
  • Obese people have more risk for heart diseases, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers (breast, uterine, colon), breathing difficulties (e.g., sleep apnea, asthma), arthritis, pregnancy complications, gall bladder problems, urinary incontinence, depression and digestive disorders (gastroesophageal reflux disease)
• Risks to psychological and social well-being
  • Negative self-image
  • Social isolation
  • Discrimination
• Difficulties with day-to-day living
  • Normal daily tasks may become harder when you are obese
  • You may tire more quickly and may find yourself short of breath
  • Public transport seats, telephone booths, and cars may be uncomfortable for you
  • You may find it increasingly difficult to maintain personal hygiene

These are not true for all obese individuals, but are common things that patients confide in us. As much as we tend to focus on the health-effects of obesity and being overweight, the social implications and our feelings are equally important. At Healthy Living Dallas you’ll find that you’re not alone. We hope that our office is an environment where you feel safe and protected each and every time you come.

Treatments

It is important to modify your diet and be involved in physical activities to lose excess weight and maintain the weight loss over the long term.

• Diet and exercises
  Regular physical activity combined with healthy eating habits is the most efficient and healthful way to control your weight. Physical activity helps to control your weight by using excess calories that otherwise would be stored as fat.

• Medications
  Most available weight-loss medications are "appetite-suppressant" medications. Appetite-suppressant medications promote weight loss by decreasing appetite or increasing the feeling of being full. These medications decrease appetite by increasing serotonin or catecholamine – two brain chemicals that affect mood and appetite. Prescription weight-loss medications should be used only when there is increased medical risk because of your weight and not for cosmetic reasons.

  If you are currently on a weight loss medication please let us know so that we can work alongside that medication until you have developed lifestyle patterns that will enable you to have success without prescriptions.

• Surgical Procedure
  Gastrointestinal surgery for obesity, also called bariatric surgery, changes the normal digestive process. The operations promote weight loss by decreasing absorption of nutrients and thereby reducing the calorie intake. Our lifestyle program qualifies for pre-surgery diet and lifestyle modifications by many surgeons in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. If you are looking for a reliable, well-documented lifestyle program before considering or completing bariatric surgery please ask our staff to discuss plan eligibility with your weight loss surgeon. Some of the common bariatric surgeries include:
  • Adjustable Gastric Banding
  • Sleeve Gastrectomy
  • Gastric Bypass
• Adjustable Gastric Banding
  In this procedure, a hollow band made of special material is placed around the stomach near its upper end, creating a small pouch and a narrow passage into the larger remainder of the stomach. The band is then inflated with a salt solution. It can be tightened or loosened over time to change the size of the passage by increasing or decreasing the amount of salt solution.

• Sleeve Gastrectomy
  Sleeve gastrectomy, also referred to as tube gastrectomy, involves removing the lateral 2/3rds of the stomach with a stapling device. It can be done laparoscopically (keyhole surgery) but is not reversible. It basically leaves a stomach tube instead of a stomach sack.

• Gastric Bypass
  Here a small stomach pouch is created to restrict food intake. Next, a Y-shaped section of the small intestine is attached to the pouch to allow food to bypass the lower stomach, the duodenum (the first segment of the small intestine), and the first portion of the jejunum (the second segment of the small intestine). This bypass reduces the absorption of nutrients and thereby reduces the calorie intake.