What is morbid obesity?
What are the risks associated with morbid obesity?
At the turn of the XX-XXI century, obesity was characterized by the World Health Organization as a non-communicable epidemic. According to current data, more than 5% of the world’s population is morbidly obese.
In the late 1990s, the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity defined obesity as a chronic, permanent, multifactorial, genetically determined life-threatening disease. Mortality in people aged 25 to 35 with morbid obesity is 12 times higher than in their normal-weight peers. In persons aged 35 to 45 years - about 8 times higher. 0.5 kg weight gain increases the risk of death by up to 3% in people aged 52-60 years.
What diseases are caused by morbid obesity?
Obesity is considered to be the main cause of the following diseases:
- Type 2 diabetes
- Arterial hypertension
- Sleep apnea
Excess weight causes damage to the spine and large joints of the lower extremities. It often causes early development of diseases in the cardiovascular system, heart attack, and stroke. It also causes the development of various pathologies of the various veins and arteries of the lower extremities, and various chronic or acute diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
Obesity is one of the contributors to the development of breast cancer, cancer of the uterus, colon, and prostate. It causes impairment of physical and mental work capacity, psychological discomfort, and depression. In advanced forms, patients become severely disabled, having difficulty performing even simple actions.
How to determine whether you have obesity and whether you need surgical treatment?
To determine whether you have obesity, what degree it is, and whether you indicate surgery, it is necessary to use the body mass index (BMI). This is calculated as the ratio of body mass (kg) to height squared (cm).
When is surgical intervention appropriate (Bariatric surgery)?
Treatment with surgery is appropriate and can be performed only in the following cases:
- When the body mass index (BMI) exceeds 40.
- When the body mass exceeds the established norm by 40-50 kg.
- If the body mass index (BMI) exceeds 32 and the patient has comorbidities characteristic of obesity (type 2 diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension, sleep apnea, lower limb joint damage, etc.).).
- If, despite multiple diet therapies, an active lifestyle (exercises aimed at weight correction), treatment with an endocrinologist, dietitian and psychologist does not give a long-lasting and stable effect in terms of weight loss.
New Hospitals has a multidisciplinary team involved in bariatric surgery, which includes a bariatric surgeon, endocrinologist, psychologist, gastroenterologist, therapist, cardiologist, gynaecologist, angiologist, anesthesiologist and radiologist. Patients can receive all of these services in one place, both preoperatively and postoperatively, and monitor their health.
To make an appointment with a bariatric surgeon, contact us: 2 190 190
