Understanding Chronic Obesity

Obesity is a serious health problem that affects more than 40% of adults and about 20% of children and adolescents, according to the CDC. Although the problems associated with obesity are widely reported in the media, most people who suffer from obesity don’t understand how their condition affects their health — or what they can do to manage their weight and reverse the damaging effects of obesity.

As a leading medical weight loss clinic in Pompano Beach, Florida, Physicians Weight Loss Center Pompano Beach offers comprehensive weight management plans and cutting-edge therapies tailored to each patient’s unique needs for optimal success in achieving and maintaining a healthy weight. 

In this post, our team offers a brief overview of obesity, including its risks and how we can help treat it.

Quick facts about obesity

Obesity is generally defined by your body mass index (BMI), often combined with your waist circumference. But as a chronic disease, obesity is much more complex than these measurements might lead you to believe.

Obesity involves changes in your metabolism and in the way your body converts glucose to energy. These and other factors make it much more difficult to lose weight and keep it off.

In fact, obesity is a multifactorial disease, involving your diet and physical activity level, in addition to things like your genetics, inherited eating habits, your environment, and even issues from your childhood. Chronic stress and hormones can also play a role.

If you have obesity, losing weight means addressing all those factors in order to achieve long-lasting results. Not only will losing weight improve your confidence, but it also helps you avoid serious complications associated with excess weight.

Complications of obesity

It’s easy to think of obesity as a condition that’s just about your weight. But obesity is much more than a “weight problem.” In fact, obesity is associated with a host of serious medical problems, including increased risks of:

• Heart disease
• Stroke
• High cholesterol
• Atherosclerosis (“hardening” of the arteries)
• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Gallbladder disease
• Sleep apnea
• Arthritis and joint pain
• Cancer
• Chronic pain and impaired mobility
• Depression

Many of these medical problems have complications of their own, like kidney failure, vision loss, and dementia.

Fortunately, losing extra pounds and maintaining a healthy weight can help with all of these complications. Better still, even a small weight decrease can yield plenty of benefits, like lowering your blood pressure and your levels of cholesterol and glucose.

Of course, losing weight and keeping it off isn’t easy. Having an individualized weight loss plan tailored to your medical needs, your lifestyle, and even your food and activity preferences is essential for achieving the results you need to enjoy better health.

Overcoming obesity: Individualized therapy is key

Medical weight loss can dramatically increase your chances of losing weight successfully and keeping it off for the long term. That’s because medical weight loss plans are designed with you in mind, and that means they’re more likely to be effective in helping you achieve your goals.

While commercial diet plans are based on general principles of weight loss, an individualized medical weight loss plan is based on your own health and lifestyle parameters, beginning with medical testing to identify nutritional deficiencies and other underlying problems that could be interfering with your weight loss efforts.

In addition to custom eating and activity plans, we may prescribe medications, supplements, or special meal plans, along with guidance to help you learn and adopt new, healthy behaviors. Regular check-in visits ensure your plan stays on track and adjusted as your needs change. And of course, we’re always on hand to answer questions and help you get the support you need to stay the course.

Achieve your healthy weight goals

A healthy weight is within your reach, and so is better overall wellness. To learn more about medical weight loss plans and how we can design a plan just for you, call 954-727-2323 or book an appointment online with Physicians Weight Loss Center Pompano Beach today.