Obesity is a long-term health issue that has spread globally. Obesity treatment Dubai is increasingly necessary due to sedentary lifestyles and access to inexpensive, high-fat meals, which contribute to rising obesity rates. Over the past 20 years, the UAE’s obesity rates have doubled, making it one of the world’s fattest industrialized countries! The increased prevalence of childhood obesity is especially concerning. Currently, about 25% of kids in the UAE are deemed overweight or obese.
Several major health issues, including diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obstructive sleep apnea, and arthritis, can result from obesity. The best obesity treatment in Dubai aims to address these complications effectively. You must get the right treatment as a result. Dr. Darbara recommends individualized plans based on health history and obesity level.
For the most part, obesity is a metabolic condition brought on by a long-term mismatch between energy intake and expenditure. In other words, you’re eating more calories or energy than you’re expending via exercise and other activities. Therefore, the goal of treating obesity is to bring this energy balance back.
There are several different treatment for obesity available, which are explained briefly below.
Overview of obesity treatments
Traditional weight loss strategies include behavior therapy, increasing physical activity, and cutting calories. However, there is now more interest in both pharmacological (medication) and surgical weight loss treatments due to rising obesity rates and related medical issues. You will often receive treatment using a mix of therapies. Restoring your normal weight and lowering co-morbidities without producing serious side effects or morbidity is the goal of therapy. Generally speaking, the health advantages increase with the amount of weight lost. Nonetheless, even modest weight loss (5–10% of body weight) might have a big positive impact on your health. As a result, you should establish reasonable objectives and accept even modest weight reduction.
Lifestyle changes
Lifestyle changes are the primary treatment for obesity and are an integral component of all types of weight control regimens. The only treatment that may result in long-term, sustainable weight loss is a lifetime of dietary and activity modifications. Obesity medical treatment complements these changes for better long-term outcomes. The following elements can be included in lifestyle changes:
Dietary changes
The overall goal of diet therapy is to lower calorie consumption. Abdominal obesity treatments often start with structured, reduced-energy diets. There are innumerable commercial diets available, so it’s critical to choose one that is both safe and appropriate for you. Diets are widely classified as reduced energy, low energy, or extremely low energy diets based on how much they limit your daily calorie intake. Your doctor can recommend a more strict, very low-energy diet for a brief period if you are really fat and have clear weight-related medical issues. Very low energy diets can cause quick and significant weight reduction by restricting your daily consumption with meal planning, pre-prepared meals, or meal replacements. However, a lot of this weight will be lost when the program ends, so you must make an effort to stick with other lifestyle modifications over time. You may also require additional treatments, such as medications and behavioral therapy, to help you maintain your weight reduction. Less restrictive diets are thus occasionally chosen as they provide you more choice and require you to learn how to choose and prepare wholesome food alternatives. As a result, the various diets’ long-term effects are rather comparable.
Meal replacement program
Recently, meal replacement programs have been created that substitute prepackaged meal plans or meal supplements (such as shakes, soups, and bars enriched with vitamins and minerals) for regular meals. These diets work based on a low-calorie diet and cause weight reduction by inducing a moderate state of ketosis. By limiting your consumption of carbohydrates, these diets force your body to use alternative sources of energy, especially your body’s stored fat. Weight reduction finally results from burning your fat reserves.
Physical activity
Increased physical activity is frequently used in combination with diets to boost energy expenditure. Exercise alone is rarely effective for weight reduction. Walking instead of driving and climbing steps instead of taking the elevator or escalator are two ways you might try to get more exercise. You should strive for 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity (such as brisk walking) at least 3-5 times each week. You will be more likely to stick to your hobbies in the future if you strive to do things you like. You can attempt swimming, cycling, or walking in the water until you reach a higher level of fitness if you are really fat and find it difficult to exercise. You may be referred to a physiotherapist or exercise physiologist for assistance in developing an appropriate exercise regimen.
Behavioural therapy
Behavior modification techniques (such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)) can assist in enhancing treatment adherence and long-term weight reduction outcomes. The behaviors and practices that lead to poor diet and inactivity are examined in these therapies. You are urged to accept accountability for your lifestyle modifications and weight reduction. These techniques, however, can be highly costly and time-consuming.
Achieving success with lifestyle changes requires a great deal of motivation. Dr. Darbara is the best obesity treatment surgeon in Dubai, emphasizing the importance of commitment to sustain results. The majority of patients will lose weight using the methods mentioned above; however, maintaining weight reduction over the long term is still problematic. In the next few years, around 90% of participants in supervised programs will regain the weight they lost. However, lifestyle modifications remain the most promising therapies for long-term weight loss if followed carefully. If your body mass index (BMI) is under 30, you are considered slightly overweight and may easily lose weight with just lifestyle changes. If you are obese (BMI more than 30), lifestyle changes may not be enough to achieve adequate weight reduction, and additional therapies such as medication may be required to keep the weight off.
Pharmacotherapy
There are already a number of weight-loss medications on the market that either decrease fat absorption (Orlistat, Xenical) or suppress appetite (Sibutramine, Reductil). Always get a prescription for these medications from a doctor. These substances have the potential to reduce body weight by as much as 10%. However, a large portion of this weight will be recovered when treatment ends. Furthermore, a number of these medications are currently being studied in clinical trials and may have unpleasant side effects, such as diarrhea. Some older medicines, such as fenfluramine, have been pulled from the market owing to adverse cardiac effects.
Medication must be used in conjunction with lifestyle changes like regular exercise and a low-fat diet for it to be effective. Weight-loss medications should only be taken for brief periods (up to three months) and should always be used carefully because they can be abused. They are currently only recommended if you have serious comorbidities, are morbidly obese, or have tried various lifestyle therapies but failed.
Surgery
If you are morbidly obese (defined as having a BMI higher than 40), surgical treatment may be considered. Obesity and shortness of breath treatment often leads to surgical options if conservative methods fail. Nonetheless, you have to take into account the operational hazards connected to certain procedures. Generally speaking, though, the advantages of surgery will exceed the dangers in terms of your physical and emotional well-being and looks. Surgery is thought to be the only treatment that can consistently result in large and long-lasting weight loss if you are severely obese and have co-morbidities. Surgical procedures can help you lose up to 30–40 kg of extra weight, but only if you follow the necessary lifestyle adjustments.
Surgery has been performed in several ways, which may be generally divided into restrictive and malabsorptive procedures. The best obesity treatment clinic Dubai frequently offers laparoscopic gastric banding as a safe option. Procedures like laparoscopic gastric banding and traditional gastroplasty are included under the former. The latter is the most often used procedure in Dubai since it is both safe and reversible. Gastric banding physically restricts how much food you can eat before feeling full by encircling the stomach with a silicone band. Malabsorptive procedures (such as gastric bypass) primarily entail skipping a portion of the small intestine to minimize calorie absorption, resulting in weight reduction. Both approaches result in comparable long-term weight loss outcomes, with patients reducing between 50 and 70 percent of their extra weight. On the other hand, bypass procedures might be riskier and could prevent vital vitamins and minerals from being absorbed.
Conclusion
While surgery is becoming more popular for treating obesity, diet, exercise, and long-term lifestyle modifications remain the foundation of treatment. Surgery should only be considered if you have serious health issues due to your weight and are severely obese. Therefore, an integrated and multidisciplinary strategy with input from a range of health specialists, including dieticians, doctors, physiotherapists, surgeons, psychologists, and psychiatrists, is necessary for the successful treatment of obesity.
You must alter your eating and exercise habits for the rest of your life if you want to lose weight in the long run. Public health initiatives and strategies are required to create a community-wide atmosphere that encourages physical exercise and a healthy diet.
Book an Appointment for Obesity Treatment
Book your appointment today for obesity treatment with Dr. Darbara. She offers tailored solutions to help you achieve lasting weight loss and improve your overall health and well-being.