
Weight Loss Options
Treatment for Morbid Obesity
A statistic frequently used about obesity treatment is that 95 percent of people who lose weight gain it all back. That statistic, based on a small study from 1959, is no longer valid. Much has changed in the way of obesity treatment since then. Thousands of people have succeeded in losing weight and keeping it off -- an encouraging fact for many that are discouraged by outdated information. There are several different types of effective treatment options to manage weight including: dietary therapy, physical activity, behavior therapy, drug therapy, combined therapy and surgery.
Weight loss of about 10 percent of excess body weight is proven to benefit health by reducing many obesity-related risk factors. Recommendations for treatment are now focusing on 10 percent weight loss to help patients with long-term maintenance of weight loss. Health professionals including physicians, nutritionists, exercise physiologists, psychologists and bariatric surgeons help persons with overweight and obesity to determine the most appropriate treatment.
Dietary Therapy
Dietary therapy involves instruction on how to adjust a diet to reduce the number of calories eaten.
- Reducing calories moderately is essential to achieve a slow but steady weight loss, which is also important for maintenance of weight loss.
- Strategies of dietary therapy include teaching about calorie content of different foods, food composition (fats, carbohydrates, and proteins), reading nutrition labels, types of foods to buy, and how to prepare foods.
- Some diets for weight loss include low-calorie, very-low calorie, and low-fat.