OBESITY INFO
you are here: Home > OBESITY INFO > TREATMENT OF OBESITY
TREATMENT OF OBESITY

The purpose of any treatment for obesity is to achieve weight loss by reducing calorie intake to a level below the number of calories burned off in a day, also with the help of physical exercise. Methods for achieving these objectives vary significantly, also depending on the level of obesity in question. As with all treatments a preliminary assessment needs to be made by a qualified physician who will then decide on the most appropriate approach for each individual patient.

The first step is of a dietary nature, based on a low calorie regime to be integrated with a program of physical activity structured and calibrated to meet the patients needs and the possibility of each patient.

When it comes to drugs, scientific research is always working to identify new molecules to be associated with diets. At present, doctors have access to numerous drugs for treating pathologies associated with obesity but when it comes to the problem of obesity itself they can only rely on drugs which reduce the absorption of fats, these drugs are indicated only in some certain cases. A vast number of products is readily available on the market, based on herbal remedies, food supplements or cocktails of various substances, but apart from usually being ineffective in some cases they may even be quite harmful to health. 



Another tool for a therapeutic approach is represented by the multidisciplinary rehabilitation of obesity. This is often reserved for particularly severe cases of obesity or cases involving significant complications. This kind of approach is based on the combined effort of a group of professionals (internists, nutritionists, psychiatrists, psychologists, dieticians, physiotherapists, nurses, etc.) within the scope of multiple settings (outpatients rooms, rehabilitation clinics, etc.). This method aims to instil good eating habits in the patient, improve his/her ability to control his/her own body weight, reactivate muscular structures and recover articular mobility, improve the cardiocirculatory and respiratory systems, increase energy consumption, increase the lean-to-fat ratio and reduce overall body weight.

Finally there is a surgical approach, so-called bariatric surgery (weight-loss surgery). Over the last few year surgical techniques have become more and more sophisticated and refined and today it is possible to offer surgical options to selected patients (those who have not obtained successful results in terms of weight reduction using medical therapies). In compliance with the indications provided by the most important scientific associations, resorting to surgery is reserved only for morbidly obese patients (class III obesity) or those with class II obesity if associated with comorbidity.

OSPEDALE REPUBBLICA DI SAN MARINO - ISS - VIA SCIALOJA, 20 - 47893 BORGO MAGGIORE - WWW.ISS.SM