Losing weight means that the diseases associated with obesity decrease or disappear

BY EU STUDIO

Updated Thursday, September 29, 2022-11:05

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There is a huge number of pathologies related to obesity.

Francisco Tinahones, head of the Endocrinology and Nutrition Service at the Virgen de la Victoria University Hospital in Malaga and a member of the Obesity Policy Engagement Network (OPEN), comments on how excess weight affects people with obesity from head to toe.

Francisco Tinahones, head of the Endocrinology and Nutrition Service at the Virgen de la Victoria University Hospital in Malaga and a member of the Obesity Policy Engagement Network.

"People with obesity suffer from many diseases caused by excess weight. At the respiratory level, they

. We have already seen in recent years how obese patients with COVID-19 who had developed bilateral pneumonia had a higher risk of dying than those who were not obese; in the digestive aspect, obesity is one of the fundamental causes of

which in many cases triggers cirrhosis; in the articular field, this pathology causes

; from a metabolic point of view tend to develop

;

at the cardiovascular level, hypertension;

a very high percentage of these men and women usually suffer from

problems ;

and from an oncogenic point of view, there are many types of

related to this problem (especially of the digestive tract and uterus)" says Dr. Tinahones.

Obesity-derived comorbidities affect both women and men, although it is true that there are female diseases, such as endometrial cancer, which is more frequent in obese women (between 2 and 3 times).

"Regarding age, in obese children or adolescents it takes more time to evolve for these pathologies to develop, but we are detecting in some of these patients diseases that already have metabolic alterations. At 18 or 19 years of age, type 2 diabetes it was exceptional or non-existent at early ages of life. Every time we are seeing how these pathologies are approaching the young adult or the adolescent", comments the endocrinologist.

For the treatment of these patients, it is convenient to carry out

Right now obesity is the poor relative of diseases and there is no perception of society or the political class that it is a disease like any other that requires treatment and equipment to address it," says the expert.

The collaboration of different specialists is essential for the follow-up of these patients.

"There must be nutritional advice, in addition to promoting physical activity and follow-up by an endocrinologist. Nor can we forget the psychic sphere, since the psychologist must detect if this patient lives with any other pathology and also help and motivate him in weight loss process. The surgeon must also be part of this team, since bariatric surgery will be necessary in morbid obesity. Working through a multidisciplinary team will always obtain better results in their therapeutic approach," says Dr. Tinahones .

Currently the collaboration by these teams is very heterogeneous, and its implementation depends on each hospital.

"Most of these multidisciplinary treatments are only carried out in patients in extreme situations, that is, with morbid obesity. Although it is a first step, this situation only affects 1 or 2% of the population, while obesity has one of every four Spaniards".

To prevent these comorbidities, the solution is to lose weight.

"If you lose weight, most associated diseases disappear: reproductive function improves, adult diabetes is cured if it is not at an advanced level, hypertension and even respiratory failure also improve. When we talk about weight loss we refer to reaching a normal weight. Exercise is also decisive. Even if you don't lose weight, just by doing physical activity, these diseases improve," says Francisco Tinahones.

Another problem in dealing with obesity is that the population does not consider having a few extra kilos to be harmful.

"We have conducted surveys of people who, according to their height and weight, gave us the result that they were obese. We have asked them and 80% did not look obese or have a perception of illness," says Francisco Tinahones.

Today, the specialist has therapeutic tools, in addition to a nutritional approach.

Until recently, the protocol consisted of giving all patients the hypocaloric, classic and homogeneous diet.

Fortunately, there are now many options depending on each patient's lifestyle.

"We have tools to be able to individualize the treatment and make it more effective," says the doctor.

The forecast for this global pandemic is not good.

If no investment is made in health resources, the associated comorbidities can cause any health system to fail in the coming years.

"The expectations are bad, since the percentage of obese grows and in children it has also increased. The child rate is very high and this does not alarm society either, since it is considered that even if a child is overweight, when he hits the growth spurt will have normal weight. The reality is that an obese adolescent has an 80% chance of being an obese adult", concludes the endocrinologist.

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