Obesity is a health killer! Conservative treatment first

Obesity is a health killer! Statistics commissioned by the Department of Health and conducted by the Academia Sinica found that the prevalence of overweight and obesity among males in the country has increased from 33.4% ten years ago to 50.8% now, which means that one out of every two men is fat; while the prevalence of overweight and obesity among females has increased from 31.7% ten years ago to 36.9% now, indicating that the number of fat men is increasing faster than that of women.

Obesity can easily cause health hazards. Doctors recommend that you take conservative measures to lose weight, controlling your diet and exercise.

According to research, obesity is closely related to a variety of metabolic diseases (such as hyperlipidemia, hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and gallbladder disease). Dr. Li Minxian, director of Chang Gung Memorial Hospital's Minimally Invasive Center and CEO of the Weight Loss and Diabetes Health Management Center, said that according to a statistic, the obesity prevalence rate in the central region is the highest in Taiwan. It is speculated that the possible factors, in addition to the fact that the central region is the food region of Taiwan, are due to the lack of public transportation in the central region, so the people in the central region rely more on motor vehicles for transportation.

Dr. Hsieh Ming-chia, director of the Department of Metabolism at Chang Foundation Hospital and CEO of the Weight Loss and Diabetes Health Management Center, said that according to surveys, 85% of adults in Taiwan with a BMI (body mass index) of more than 27 suffer from obesity-related diseases, and more than 65% of people with a BMI of 24 to 27 also suffer from related diseases; on the contrary, nearly 70% of adults with a BMI below 24 have no obesity-related symptoms. (A similar survey in Japan also pointed out that people with a BMI of 22 in Japan have the lowest disease rate, and those over 30 years old with a BMI of 22 or 23 have the lowest mortality rate). Therefore, the harm that obesity brings to the body has received attention from the medical community.

Dr. Li Minxian pointed out that the current treatment of obesity still prioritizes "conservative therapy," that is, control of diet and exercise. If the results are not good, you can seek help from a professional doctor for medication. However, according to research by the World Health Organization, "weight loss surgery" is still the only effective treatment for obesity and metabolic syndrome. Surgical methods include laparoscopic gastric bypass, gastric reduction, gastric banding and intragastric balloon, etc. The appropriate treatment method can be selected based on whether the patient has excessive appetite or good absorption before the operation. Moreover, with the advancement of medicine, now all surgeries are performed laparoscopically, and even through a single incision. In addition to the advantages of traditional laparoscopic surgery (less pain, quicker recovery time), the wound is hidden in the belly button and is almost invisible, so it is more aesthetically pleasing.