Medical Treatments for Obesity
Updated on July 28, 2007
Obesity can be treated medically if the cause is a medical cause. In such cases, obesity isn't the problem; it's a side-effect. Other medical treatments can help encourage developing a new lifestyle.
Hormones Helped by Medication
Some metabolism dysfunctions and hormone imbalances can cause obesity. Now before you shout out "That's my problem! It's all hormones!" realize that hormonal causes accounts for a very small percentage of obesity cases.
Nevertheless, it's still a good idea to go to the doctor, get a physical exam, and find out if you have hypothyroidism, Crushing's syndrome, or some other disorder. Even if you discover that you have a disorder that results in obesity, don't give up. Lifestyle changes will still make a huge impact, and if you treat your disorder, the obesity may even go away on its own.
Pregnancy (Not Obesity)
Pregnancy can cause weight gain. The weight gain isn't completely an increase in fat and isn't technically considered obesity. If you're female, and you suddenly start packing on pounds, don't forget to get a pregnancy test. I've actually heard stories of women who thought they just gained weight and suddenly they discovered they were going to have a baby. Of course, the medical treatment for this weight gain cause is simply to wait for the baby to be born.
Edema (Not Obesity)
Water retention can also cause weight gain. The increase in weight in this case is completely water and not fat, so it is also not considered obesity. Water retention can also signal a very serious problem, so make sure that you get that physical exam by your doctor.
You don't cure obesity by taking pills, using miracle creams, investing in massaging devices, or spending time in steam rooms. You don't even cure it with surgery if you refuse to change the underlying problem (but surgery can be a tool to help you). If you remove the underlying problem, the obesity will disappear on it's own.
Bariatric Surgical Treatments
Gastric bypass surgery, gastric banding, and other forms of bariatric surgery are designed to help patients lose weight by forcing them to change their lifestyles. You eat less because eating more has unpleasant consequences. Such surgeries aren't cures; they're tools to help you alter your lifestyle. There are cases of people who gradually went back to their old lifestyles and regained all of their weight. They are good for people who need to lose a large amount of weight (at least 100 lbs.) quickly for health reasons only.
Liposuction
Liposuction is a way to achieve instant gratification (after the pain wears off). The doctor goes in and sucks the fat out of you. Unfortunately, if you don't change your lifestyle, the weight will come right back. A good plastic surgeon should screen patients to ensure that they are not undergoing liposuction as a treatment for obesity. It is typically for cosmetic reasons only.
Weight Loss Medications
Oh, they sound like miracle pills, and then they end up causing serious problems, including death. Avoid them. Whether they are something you saw on an infomercial, something you saw on the shelf of the drugstore, or something your own doctor prescribed to you, they're all bad news, and I'm keeping that opinion until I see something that actually works and doesn't get pulled from the market after twenty years because it causes some terrible side effect.
Prescription Diets
These are the diets in which a doctor tells you to drink some shakes or eat some meal replacement bars. Sure they work, but they often fail in the long run because the weight comes back once you resume eating like a human being again. These methods can work if accompanied by an intense program that helps the patient change their lifestyle to maintain their weight loss after the diet has ended. I don't recommend these programs for most people because they're not realistic. Do you really want to live on shakes (and they're not delicious no matter what you say) and processed food bars for anything longer than a week? Delicious food is one of the pleasures of life, so it can be incredibly difficult to stick to such a diet. However, if you need to loose a lot of weight fast for health reasons only, such diets could be an option for you.
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