“Health” statistics: Obese people include 27.8% of adults and 17.3% of adolescents

Bariatric surgery is not cosmetic

• Dr. Nazim Al-Rifai.

• Surgeon team operating, shot through glass wall. Obesity is classified as a modern disease and its numbers are on the rise globally due to changing dietary habits.

  Photography: Ashok Verma

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Obesity is classified as a disease of the age, especially as its numbers are rising globally, due to the change in dietary habits in recent years. The statistics of the Ministry of Health and Community Protection on the percentage of obese people in the country during 2021 indicated that 27.8% of the total adults and 17.35% of adolescents are obese.

The specialist in general and obesity surgery at Gargash Hospital, Dr. Nazem Al-Rifai, stressed that obesity is a complex disease in its causes and treatments, stressing the importance of resorting to all treatments that rid the patient of obesity, and that reach surgeries when the body mass index rises above 35.

Dr. Nazem Al-Rifai identified the causes of obesity, and said: "Obesity is classified as a disease of the age, and it is a complex and complex disease, resulting from many factors, including environmental, social, hormonal, as well as genetic."

He pointed out that the definition of obese is by determining the body density index (BMI), as its average in a normal person does not exceed 24, while it ranges between 25 and 29 in those who suffer from overweight, so let us begin to describe obesity in a person whose body density ranges They have between 30 and 34, while a person is diagnosed with morbid obesity when his index exceeds 35.

food industry

To explain in detail the causes associated with obesity, Dr. Al-Refai emphasized that the changes in the food industry, shifted people from single home cooking to group cooking and processed foods, and this created an unhealthy eating environment.

He pointed out that obesity is rising in all countries of the world significantly, because it is linked to eating food, which is a daily activity necessary for life, explaining that no matter how many disorders that lead to obesity, food will be the instigator.

He pointed out that hormonal factors play a major role in obesity, explaining that those who suffer from insulin resistance (a sugar hormone), and leptin resistance (a hunger hormone), are prone to gaining weight and obesity. He also added to these reasons the presence of a group of diseases that cause weight gain. , including hypothyroidism, or taking certain medications, including psychiatric medications.

Complex reasons

Regarding obesity treatments, Dr. Al-Refai said that “the causes and effects of obesity are very complex, and each case requires an in-depth medical study to choose the appropriate treatment, which is often a multi-solution approach, or even to choose to resort to surgery in cases of severe obesity, as surgery is sometimes the best solution, especially It improves leptin resistance and reduces food intake.”

Dr. Al-Rifai described obesity surgeries as the ideal solution for obese people, as doctors avoid the first solutions, when the body mass exceeds 35, because surgeries in this case aim to get rid of a dangerous disease, explaining that some are afraid of surgeries, but actually the risks of obesity exceed the risks surgeries.

Lose weight

The most prominent obesity surgeries that Dr. Al-Refai talked about are sleeve gastrectomy and gastric bypass, stressing that they are not cosmetic surgeries, but health, and they are laparoscopic surgeries under general anesthesia, and the surgical procedure is performed through holes in the abdomen.

He pointed out that choosing one of the two surgeries depends on the patient's condition and medical history, with the exception of children over 12 years old, who are given a sleeve gastrectomy, not a diversion, and these surgeries lead to a gradual weight loss.

Prepare

Dr. Al-Refai pointed out that preparing the patient before surgery is to perform some blood tests, chest x-rays, as well as heart tests, for those over 45 years old, and even x-rays of the abdomen, in addition to the need to follow diets to lose some kilograms to avoid any complications during or after surgery.

Dr. Al-Refai noted that surgery is considered half the solution, as the patient must adhere to a good diet and health system.

To watch the video,

Dr. Nazim Al-Rifai: 

"Determining severe obesity is by determining the body density index (BMI)". 

Changes in the food industry have shifted people from home cooking to processed foods.

Post-surgery

Dr. Nazim Al-Rifai stressed that the patient should follow a healthy lifestyle after the surgery, based on healthy eating and sports, because the patient returns to his normal weight almost, but the doctor’s advice must be adhered to, not to gain weight again, because the surgery returns the patient to the correct line of life, But it does not prevent deviation from it, directing a chief advice to the necessity of self-care, awareness and knowledge, with the need to pay attention to educating children.

He pointed out that there was a statistic conducted on school students, which showed that a one-hour lecture a week on healthy eating reduced the obesity rate for more than 40% of the students.

leptin resistance

The specialist in general and obesity surgery, Dr. Nazem Al-Rifai, introduced the leptin hormone, which is the hunger hormone and its action. He said that “the secretion of the hormone leptin rises when the natural fat tissue in the body increases, as when the secretion rises, the brain receives information about the increase in fat, and the need to lose weight, and from They suffer from leptin resistance, their hormone secretion increases, but it does not affect the brain, and this hormonal imbalance leads to weight gain, even with eating small amounts of food.”

He stressed the absence of any treatments or drugs that reduce leptin resistance. 

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