Acta clinica Croatica, Vol. 40 No. 2, 2001.
Original scientific paper
The Efficiency of the ‘Healthy Weight Reduction Program’ in the Treatment of Obesity
Veljko Đorđević
Željko Jovanović
Milan Gošev
Ljiljana Nagy
Abstract
Obesity is a condition characterized by storage of excessive amounts of fat in the body. According to the World Health Organization, obesity has reached epidemic proportions and has become a leading public health issue. The increase in body weight causes numerous clinical complications and affects the quality of life, ability to work, and longevity of the patient. The treatment costs, direct and indirect, have become a substantial burden of healthcare systems. The etiology of obesity is complex and includes genetic factors, lifestyle, psychological factors, and, of course, high-fat diet. Fats are significant sources of calories, which are stored in the body in the form of fatty tissue. Typical human diet contains over 40% of fat, although the recommended maximum is 30%. Insufficient physical activity fosters the accumulation of adipose tissue. A sensible approach to the treatment should include moderate diets rich in carbohydrates, regular exercise, and pharmacological aid, if necessary. Weight loss programs offer a new multidisciplinary approach with a long-term goal to change the patient’s lifestyle and to treat the illness and its complications. The aim of this pilot study was to assess to what extent intensive healthy diet education, psychotherapist’s counseling, and exercise contribute to successful pharmacological treatment of obesity. Besides the psychotherapeutic and nutritional counseling, the Healthy Weight Loss Program relied on the treatment with orlistat, a representative of the new therapeutic group of lipase inhibitors, which selectively binds to the lipase enzyme in the gastrointestinal tract, thus preventing the fat digestion into simpler forms and reducing their absorption in the body by up to 30%. The analysis of the six-month program, which included 111 subjects, showed the comprehensive approach to therapy of obesity to have a statistically significant effect on weight control. The average weight loss was 12.5% of the baseline weight. Besides the weight reduction, the glucose metabolism improved, and blood pressure levels dropped by 5%. The subjects expressed satisfaction with the program and the results achieved. The analysis of the achievements confirmed the weight loss program based on education, psychotherapeutic counseling, and therapy with orlistat to be an efficient and reliable mode of obesity management.
Keywords
Obesity, drug therapy; Anti-obesity agents, therapeutic use; Body weight, drug effects
Hrčak ID:
14855
URI
Publication date:
1.6.2001.
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