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- The American Gastroenterology Association has released new guidelines recommending prescription drugs and lifestyle changes to treat obesity.
- Association officials say diet and exercise alone may not be enough for long-term weight loss.
- Childhood obesity, chronic inflammation, and food addiction are some of the factors that inhibit the long-term success of lifestyle changes, according to experts.
Medication can be an important missing item in a weight loss plan.
Four drugs recently approved to treat obesity, in addition to lifestyle changes, are now recommended by the American Gastroenterology Association.
Association officials say that when combined with other lifestyle changes, such as diet and exercise, it shows more effective results than lifestyle changes alone.
How effective are they?
Studies conducted in relation to the recommendations reported reductions in these weight loss percentages of body weight when compared to controls.
In a press release, study author Eduardo Grunvald, M.D., medical director of the weight management program at UC San Diego Health, explained that these drugs work by treating a biological disease rather than a lifestyle issue. did.
According to study authors, obesity rates in the United States have increased from 30% to nearly 42% over the past two decades, causing health complications.
“Using the drug as an option to aid weight loss can improve weight-related complications such as joint pain, diabetes, fatty liver, and high blood pressure,” says Grunvald.
Dr. Amy Lee, chief medical officer of Lindora Weight Loss and Wellness Clinics in Southern California, told Healthline there are many factors that influence how people lose weight.
“In my experience, diet and exercise may not be enough,” she said.
Lee explains that there are several other factors that make weight loss difficult.
Here are some of the most common factors she says she’s encountered at work.
childhood obesity
Lee says that if someone grows up overweight as a child, their metabolic base is already gearing them up for the more difficult weight loss journey of adulthood.
chronic inflammation
Inflammation is an underlying condition of health and can be associated with being overweight or with unrelated medical conditions that keep the body in an inflamed state, Lee says.
“Conditions such as diabetes, chronic pain, arthritis, and insomnia (just to name a few) can be highly inflammatory and can change the way the body stores fuel and fat,” she said. I will explain.
Hormonal changes with aging
Lee said the hormonal disruptions that occur as our bodies age can directly affect our metabolism.
The changes may be “simple”, such as the decrease in sex hormones associated with menopause in women and andropause in men.
“But other hormones that can be interfered with include thyroid hormones, which are also involved in metabolism,” Lee said.
Impact of technology improvement
“As more and more people become dependent on technology, a complication is increased sedentary behavior, resulting in less activity, increased complacency, boredom, and mental health effects. There is a possibility.
“People can generally feel more tired and unmotivated to continue with their weight loss program or go out to do something,” she added.
Dr. Joan Ifland of FACN, CEO of Food Addiction Reset LLC, told Healthline:
Dr. Ifland says processed foods are ubiquitous in modern culture, and we are surrounded by stimuli of addiction.
“Processed foods act like drugs of abuse on your brain, making you lose control of your impulses,” she says. “People eat helplessly when they can’t control their urges. Diet and exercise don’t fix this.”
Additionally, weight loss programs can actually exacerbate addiction by restricting calories, awakening the urge to seek food out of fear of famine in the brain.
You’re not alone in finding lifestyle changes that don’t help you lose weight in the long run.
“Drugs aren’t for everyone, but if they work, they have to be accepted,” says Lee.
Here are some of her recommendations when considering medications to treat obesity.
ask a question
Knowing what you’re ingesting is important to your health journey.
“Patients need to understand what classes of drugs are available and be well informed about potential side effects and contraindications,” says Lee.
“These are all prescription drugs, so you should talk to your healthcare provider about the details of each option,” she notes.
For example, Mr. Lee says:
stay realistic
Ifland adds that no single drug can cure processed food addiction, which can contribute to obesity.
Ifland adds that there are other considerations.
- The weight comes back as soon as you stop taking the medicine.
- Side effects can be serious, so the drug cannot be continued indefinitely.
- Insurance companies cannot pay for weight loss drugs indefinitely.
- The actual weight loss may be small compared to the discomfort caused by the drug’s side effects.
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