Clinical medicine (London, England)
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Obesity is a chronic, progressive and relapsing disease, characterised by the presence of abnormal or excess adiposity that impairs health and social wellbeing. It is associated with obesity-related disease complications, health inequalities and premature death. ⋯ Increased awareness and knowledge will help reduce weight stigma and biases. A focused non-judgemental assessment will help guide further investigations, timely referral and management.
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Obesity is a global epidemic that has worsened over the past few decades. It is strongly associated with multiple health conditions, including type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases, obstructive sleep apnoea, certain malignancies and has an increased mortality risk. ⋯ An early and pragmatic approach to the management of obesity would reduce obesity-associated multiple health conditions and result in cost savings for the NHS. Here, we discuss current management strategies for obesity, including dietary intervention, pharmacological therapies and optimisation, and bariatric surgery.
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Across the UK, people's lives are being cut short because of obesity, and the lives of the most deprived members of our communities are being cut the most. The role of the medical professional in managing overweight and obesity is extensive, but, for many patients, maintaining a healthy weight needs to be supported by creating environments that help people to stay healthy in the first place. ⋯ Clinicians have the skills to create change, they often hold power in organisations with local to international impact and there are actions, big or small, that every clinician can take to improve obesity prevention. Here, we outline an environmental-behavioural framework for the primary prevention of obesity and consider the role of clinicians in catalysing change.
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Obesity, physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour are major public health concerns. A complex interaction of many factors leads to obesity, which requires an individualised multicomponent management strategy. ⋯ Here, we summarise current evidence regarding the benefits of physical activity as part of a management strategy of obesity. Additionally, we discuss current methods for increasing physical activity levels in individuals with obesity and outline the role of sport and exercise medicine physicians as part of the multidisciplinary team.
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Obesity in adults is a growing health concern. Although effective, current treatment options have not been able to overcome the various factors that contribute toward rising obesity rates. eHealth might hold the capacity to improve the effectiveness, delivery and flexibility of some of these treatments. ⋯ This raises concerns around the potential and inadvertent widening of obesity prevalence disparities between groups as mHealth lifestyle change interventions are increasingly used in obesity care. Thus, we also describe opportunities to address these concerns and gaps in evidence.