Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to an extent that it may have a negative effect on health. In the second half of the previous century eating habits for most people had changed. From eating a lot of fibers, plants we switched to eating a lot of food with saturated fat, animal food origin. At the same time, lifestyle had changed. With technology development, we became less physically active. All those factors have contributed to the development of obesity.

Obesity is a huge problem in today’s society, it is common in many countries. It’s on the rise and it’s becoming one of the leading diseases of modern civilization. It leads to severe and numerous complications on many organs and organ systems, and in addition to aesthetics, it can also create serious health problems and affect the quality of life.

It is one of the main risk factors for cardiovascular disease (high blood pressure, heart stroke, atherosclerosis, etc.) , diabetes (diabetes type II), as well as various malignancies, depression, sleep breathing disorders, asthma, and many other diseases. Obesity is the result of a combination of excessive food intake, lack of physical activity, and genetic sensitivity.

How we calculate obesity

Obesity is defined as BMI (body mass index – which is subject’s weight divided by the square of their height). It’s usually presented in the International system of units so BMI would be BMI = kg/m2. BMI scale:

1. Underweight < 18.5
2. Healthy weight 18.5 – 25
3. Overweight 25 – 30
4. Obesity class I 30 – 35
5. Obesity class II 35 – 40
6. Obesity class III > 40

The goal of obesity treatment is not only to reduce weight but also to reduce risk factors while improving the quality of life of patients. That means complete changing of lifestyle which might be really hard and challenging. That’s why it’s very important to include psychologist in process.

Personal trainer, nutritionist and psychologist have to work as a team. Patient motivation is the most important in the treatment of obesity and it is necessary to determine the patient’s readiness and motivation before treatment.
After you set all things, determine goals, process can begin. Goals should be realistic, otherwise process will fail and patient will give up after a while.

One of the first things in process is detailed medical examination and nutrition plan based on results of it. Basically, all nutrition plans for obesity reduction are based on caloric deficit and eating habits change in general. Second thing is physical activity. Volume and intensity should be individualized and appropriate to patient capabilities. Personal trainer should develop program that fits to the patient at the moment.

Last thing and the most important is motivation of the patient. Support from family, close friends and complete changing of life style is necessary.

‍