Being overweight can cause many health problems. These include heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and other health problems that, when not treated, can lead to a shortened lifespan. Some people have died because they failed to address obesity. Being overweight also has dramatic effects on one’s self-esteem and body image. In a society where fit and thin is in, it is hard to find acceptance when you are 10, 20, 30 or more kilograms overweight.
Fortunately technology has afforded physicians and scientists many new techniques for rapid weight loss. There are many surgical and natural weight loss treatments available for patients that want to lose weight quickly and efficiently. Many patients do not want to go under the knife to lose weight, for fear of the risks and complications associated with surgery.
Nutritional counselling is important and vital to the success of any non-surgical weight loss intervention. Weight loss is a lifestyle, rather than a procedure. In order to lose weight permanently, a patient must adopt new and healthy diet and exercise habits.
The only way to lose weight permanently is to learn how to eat well. A nutritionist and behavioural therapist can work with patients to identify triggers that cause patients to eat. Sometimes these are emotional triggers developed from past experiences. Food may be used as a coping mechanism. Identifying new tools to cope with stress or lifestyle changes may help patients learn to eat to live, rather than live to eat.
Risks & Complications
Any surgical or non-surgical procedure may have risks. Losing a large amount of weight over any period of time changes the structure of the body. You have to think about how much risk is associated if you don’t lose that excess weight.