The aim of medical and surgical treatments for obesity is to help people to consume fewer calories than they are burning, resulting in them using up their fat stores and losing weight. Find out more.

Obesity treatment

Obesity for most people seems to be irreversible. A person wanting to lose weight (permanently) will need to significantly reduce their food intake, below that of their friends and family, in an environment where food is readily available and others around them are enjoying it. Despite obesity being associated with a number of medical and lifestyle complications, it’s just not possible for a person living with obesity to reduce their calorie intake enough to be able to make lifelong changes on their own.

The aim of medical and surgical treatments for obesity is to help people to consume fewer calories than they are burning, resulting in them using up their fat stores and losing weight. Most people can’t exercise enough to ever compensate for overeating, so the reduction in calories must be ongoing. This isn’t a quick fix, but a lifestyle change.

Selecting the right obesity treatment for you

The key to selecting a treatment for your weight problem depends on your goals. If you are overweight but not obese, there is no doubt that dieting and exercise will enable you to lose enough weight to help. But if you are significantly overweight, this may not be the case and you may be a candidate for surgery. Your doctor will guide you toward the best form of obesity treatment appropriate for your individual circumstance.

Non-surgical obesity treatment options

Anyone who is thinking about weight loss surgery will have tried a number of diets in the past. While there are many types of diet, they all work by reducing food intake sometimes combined with increasing exercise.

Reduced Energy Diet – supervised by a dietitian, requires a significant energy deficit (around 1,500 calories per day for women, 1,800 for men)

Very Low Energy Diet (VLED) – replaces meals with commercially available drinks (shakes) or bars (used alone providing approximately 600 – 800 calories per day, or in combination with a normal meal 1,200 calories per day)

Drug Therapy – see Weight Loss Medication

Exercise Therapy – this will never replace a poor diet; significant amounts of exercise are required to create a deficit. For example, walking for 30 minutes 3 – 4 times a week will likely only cause a 1,000 – 1,500 weekly calorie deficit (but the health benefits outweigh the minimal weight loss).

Following a diet and losing weight indicates compliance, which most people can do for a few weeks or months. Most patients cannot adhere to a diet long term, i.e. still continuing a year later. One of the problems is that most diets are complex and difficult to stick to, so adhering permanently becomes impossible.

Bariatric surgery (weight loss surgery)

Drastically reduces a patient’s capacity to eat and their hunger, but it does not cure obesity. A patient is required to adhere to a new healthy lifestyle, where they are ‘eating to live’ not ‘living to eat’. Bariatric surgery has been shown to provide effective long-term weight control in the majority of morbidly obese patient treatments (95 per cent in the short term, 75 – 85 per cent long-term for patients who continue to follow-up).

During your consultation, your doctor will discuss various obesity treatment options to help you make an informed decision about what is right for you and your journey, whether that be surgical or non-surgical. If you would like to know more or to make an appointment with one of our doctors, you can contact the practice online or call us today on (02) 9553 1120.