Obesity Treatment & Prevention

Obesity Treatment & Prevention

What is Obesity?

1 in 3 Australians are currently living with obesity, and the prevalence of obesity is increasing.1 Obesity is a multifactorial disease that often requires lifelong medical treatment and/or support—it is not simply the result of poor choices or a lack of will power.2-4 Obesity affects most organ systems, increasing the risk of developing serious health problems and a broad range of complications.4-6 Download information to discuss with your patient.

What is Obesity?

1 in 3 Australians are currently living with obesity, and the prevalence of obesity is increasing.1 Obesity is a multifactorial disease that often requires lifelong medical treatment and/or support—it is not simply the result of poor choices or a lack of will power.2-4 Obesity affects most organ systems, increasing the risk of developing serious health problems and a broad range of complications.4-6 Download information to discuss with your patient.

A quote from Rubino et al discussing stigma around obesity in society

Why is Obesity So Hard to Treat?

There is a theory that weight is regulated by complex hormonal signalling that controls appetite and metabolism to maintain a steady-state metabolic set point.3,7 Causes of weight gain and obesity are multifactorial, and weight loss itself can trigger metabolic adaptation that drives weight regain (after an energy-controlled diet and physical exercise have been unsuccessful).4,7-9 Despite some of these factors which can be out of a patient’s control, unconscious bias still surrounds people living with obesity and their treatment choices.10 Download information to discuss with your patient.

Treatments for People Living with Obesity

Diagram of three arrows comparing weight loss between lifstyle changes, medication and weight loss surgery

Treatment Options

Effective treatment options are available for people living with obesity. Guidelines recommend lifestyle modifications (diet change and exercise), pharmacotherapy, and bariatric surgery based on a patient’s body mass index, the presence of obesity-related complications, and target weight loss.11,12

Flow chat diagram that depicts the cycle of weight gain

Why Diet and Exercise Don’t Always Work

Lifestyle modification underpins all successful weight loss.11 For many people, lifestyle modification alone is unsuccessful because of genetics, environment, or normal compensatory physiologic drivers of weight regain after weight loss that increase appetite, reduce satiety, and slow down metabolism.7-9  Why is Weight Loss so Hard to Maintain? Download this information sheet to discuss with your patients or visit our Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery page to learn how surgery could help your patients.