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Are you overweight or obese, and the doctor from the he alth clinic pretends that he does not notice it, downplays your disease, or recommends that you lose weight yourself? He has no right to behave like this. We suggest what you can expect from a primary care physician if you want to treat obesity.

Obesityis a complex chronic disease, and many metabolic, environmental, psychological, hormonal and genetic factors contribute to its development. The World He alth Organization (WHO) entered obesity under the code E66 on the International List of Diseases and He alth Problems over 50 years ago. Obesity is hard to miss. Its symptom is the accumulation of fatty tissue in various parts of the body.

It is the duty of every doctor to treat obesity like any other disease. Prof. dr hab. Magdalena Olszanecka-Glinianowicz, President of the Polish Society for Obesity Research, tells patients what to expect from a doctor when it comes to diagnosing the causes and degree of obesity, and then treating it.

Step 1:
First, the doctor should measure you:

  • weight and height,
  • body mass index, i.e. BMI (Body Mass Index),
  • waist circumference,
  • blood pressure,
  • heart rate.

Step 2:
The doctor should then talk to you about overweight and obesity in you and your family. What topics should he address?

  • the onset of obesity and the accompanying circumstances,
  • history of weight changes and periods of disease severity,
  • prevalence of obesity in the family,
  • family-derived eating patterns,
  • eating habits: what do you eat and drink most often, how many meals a day do you eat, which meal is the largest, do you eat between meals, and if so, what products do you eat most often,
  • circumstances accompanying eating, e.g. whether you eat during any activities, and if so, what, do you eat in stressful situations, what do you feel when eating or being hungry,
  • episodes of gluttony,
  • food control - do you eat "just in case" so as not to feel hungry or hungry; can you tell the difference between hunger and appetite and how to get ityou react,
  • forms of physical activity - at work, at home and in free time,
  • occurring chronic diseases and medications used due to them,
  • regularity of periods,
  • smoking and drinking alcohol,
  • what prompts you, motivates you to start treatment.

Step 3:
The next action of the doctor should be ordering or analyzing the results of the following tests:

  • glucose,
  • total cholesterol, LDL and HDL cholesterol,
  • triglyceride concentrations,
  • measurement of liver enzymes.

Step 4:
The last stage of the visit to the doctor is to establish a treatment plan, that is:

  • determining the real weight reduction goal and the time in which this goal is to be achieved,
  • recommendations for changes to diet and exercise,
  • term the need for psychotherapy,
  • the possibility of using medications supporting the treatment of overweight or obesity,
  • possibility of undergoing bariatric surgery if you suffer from obesity of the third degree, the so-called morbid obesity,
  • determining the methods of self-control (keeping a diary of nutrition and physical activity, weight control, observation of factors that make it difficult to introduce changes),
  • establishing a plan for control visits - at least 1 per month.

Prepared on the basis of:"Do not fight", "do not lose weight", but - a guide for overweight and obese patients"- collective work under the supervision of prof. Dr hab . n. med. Magdalena Olszanecka - Glinianowicz, publisher: Valeant, 2022

Obesitologist is a specialist
treatment of overweight and obesity.
Are you looking for obesitologists? Go to: www.jakleczycotylosc.pl

This will be useful to you

The doctor has no right:

  • not notice your obesity,
  • blame you for obesity,
  • impose on you the obligation to get rid of excess weight on your own,
  • comment on your obesity in an unpleasant way,
  • ridicule you about obesity in front of other patients and medical staff
  • refuse to undergo tests because of your obesity and to start treatment for obesity and other medical conditions until you "lose weight".
Important

Poradnikzdrowie.pl supports safe treatment and a dignified life of people suffering from obesity.
This article does not contain discriminatory and stigmatizing content for people suffering from obesity.

About the authorMagdalena Gajda A specialist in obesity disease and obesity discrimination of people with diseases.President of the OD-WAGA Foundation of People with Obesity, Social Ombudsman for the Rights of People with Obesity in Poland and a representative of Poland in the European Coalition for People Living with Obesity. By profession - a journalist specializing in he alth issues, as well as a PR, social communication, storytelling and CSR specialist. Privately - obesity since childhood, after bariatric surgery in 2010. Starting weight - 136 kg, current weight - 78 kg.

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Category:

Obesity