Weight Loss Treatments
What are my options?
Weight loss methods range from dieting and exercise, to behavioural therapy and weight loss drug therapy, such as obesity pills and surgery. Before you think about which weight loss method would suit you best, it’s important to understand whether you are obese or overweight, which can be assessed by a BMI calculator. Once your BMI is known, your doctor will take into account factors such as your medical history, your level of mobility and your ability to comply with dietary or behavioural treatments before deciding on a weight loss regime.
Diet and exercise
When it comes to losing weight, it’s recommended that you aim for a slow and steady regime that will see you drop 1 to 2lbs each week. It’s never a good idea to attempt dramatic, fast weight loss because this generally does more harm than good to your body. Aside from the potential impacts on your health, failing to lose weight in this way will probably erode your motivation. This can even make your situation worse; some people comfort eat after a failed weight loss attempt, which compounds the problem.
Exercise is another important way to lose weight, and you should aim to do 30 minutes of exercise a day, which can be broken into sessions of 10 or 15 minutes. If you want to see a noticeable improvement in your weight, you should strive to exercise 30 minutes a day for five days a week. You don’t have to join a gym to do this; it could involve every day activities such as gardening, walking up stairs or planning activities with your friends.
Slimming pills
Many people who try to lose weight through diet and exercise decide to buy slimming pills, to help boost their efforts. Non-prescription obesity pills usually work to increase your metabolic rate, which helps you to burn more fat.
Non-prescription obesity pills usually contain natural ingredients, meaning there is a lower risk of side effects, which is why they can be bought over the counter. However, there are no guarantees that these kinds of obesity pills are effective. They’re marketed as supplements for a healthy diet and exercise plan, rather than a weight loss method on their own.
Xenical
Xenical capsules are another type of obesity pill, but they are proven to be more effective than slimming pills and are prescribed as weight loss method. They prevent your body from absorbing a proportion of fat in your diet. Xenical obesity pills are only prescribed to patients who have a BMI of 30 or above. If you have a BMI of 27 or higher and you already have, or are at risk of developing, serious health problems, you could be considered for this weight loss treatment.
Surgical procedures
Weight loss surgery works as an obesity treatment by restricting the amount of food you can eat by reducing the size of your stomach. Operations can take anything from 30 minutes to several hours and can cost up to £20,000 if performed privately.
Surgery is recommended as an obesity treatment to patients who:
- Have a BMI of 40 or above
- Have a BMI of between 35 and 40 and suffer from diabetes or high blood pressure
- Have tried other weight loss methods and have not seen any success
The problem with this kind of obesity treatment is that procedures may need to be repeated to keep the results in place. Every procedure means you might be left with further swelling, bruising and scarring. Obese patients are encouraged to try other methods of obesity treatment before considering surgery, such as using obesity pills or improving their diet.
Europe
United Kingdom
France
Italy
Sweden
Germany
