Santo Domingo.- Dietologist Jenny Cepeda alerted the Dominican population about the negative effects of undergoing very restrictive diets in the short term, since they do not help in the prevention of obesity.
The specialist said that most of these plans will lead to failure, “since it is not a physiological loss and you will soon regain the weight you have lost or even more.”
On the contrary, the expert suggests a series of measures to achieve the desired weight loss without harming health.
“It is always recommended to make moderate restrictive plans with lifestyle changes, and with a physiological reduction as we have mentioned in order to avoid rebound effects,” he says.
The rebound effects are nothing more than people who, when they are subjected to very restrictive diets in the short term, are going to spend the rest of the time in swings of their weight going up and down very frequently, “he explained.
When World Obesity Day was celebrated on March 4, it became clear that 31.1% of children and adolescents in the country are overweight and obese, according to a report from the Ministry of Public Health and the Institute of Student Well-being ( inabie).
The diabetologist explained that a not so recent study conducted by EFRICARD II showed that the figures for global obesity in the Dominican Republic are around 31.7%.
In addition, he indicated that a report from the World Obesity Atlas of 2022 indicates that it is expected that by 2030 the number of people with obesity will increase to one billion.
Obesity is considered a disease since this is a condition that increases pro-inflammatory processes and that over time will trigger comorbidities such as diabetes, metabolic syndrome, hypertension, sleep apnea, and types of cancer.
He pointed out that multiple anthropometric measurements are taken into account to define obesity, but the most common is to consider the person’s weight in kilos and height with meters squared to calculate the body mass index (BMI).
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a person is considered obese if their body mass index is above 30 kg/m2.
An increase of 20% of the patient’s theoretical weight is also considered obesity.
According to Dr. Cepeda, the diseases that obesity can generate are diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases and other associated conditions.
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«Other diseases that obesity associated with cancer can cause are adenocarcinoma of the esophagus, breast cancer, colon and rectal cancer, uterine cancer, gallbladder cancer, kidney cancer, liver cancer, pancreatic ovarian cancer, thyroid cancer, among others. others,” he explained.
The doctor maintained that the main reasons why obesity can occur is due to a reduction or a condition in people’s healthy habits.
“The exaggerated increase in the intake of calories per day, the reduction of physical activity, the associated medications that lead us to consume more food than necessary per day, the intake of hypercaloric drinks high in sugar,” he indicated.
He said that although the Government intends to have parks in some areas, which also include elements for exercising, he believes that efforts should focus on the commitment that each family must make to include these healthy habits within their circle.
Sometimes we use foods that are processed and high in sugar due to lack of time, due to lack of food planning,” he said.
He recommended that it is necessary for each family to make agendas of adequate habits, and that they can educate their children in them.
“For example, when rewarding them for something that deserves it, do not do it with foods high in calories and fat, but also do it with elements that help make these changes in their lifestyle such as balls, skates, bicycles that include physical activity. and also shift our thought patterns towards healthier states,” he added.
When addressing the issue, the specialist cited that the first treatment for overweight and all types of obesity is to start restrictive plans with daily calorie reduction. «For men the recommended diet is 1,500 to 1,800 kcal per day; for women it is 1,200 to 1,500 kcal per day. It is necessary to visit expert nutritionists to be able to accompany them in this process,” she said.
He added that another of the recommended strategies in all types of obesity and overweight is to include physical activity in the routine.
«Ranging from 250 minutes a week, of this time, 150 minutes should be of moderate intensity exercises divided into the days of your preference. To integrate these changes, we must be patient and consistent with setting real goals,” he said.
He explained that the desired weight loss is 1-2 pounds per week or 10% of the initial weight in 3 months.
One point that he highlighted as important to achieve weight reduction in people is to also treat the psychological aspect.
«It is recommended to integrate a mental health staff in the treatment process, since this guarantees adherence to lifestyle changes. Neurocognitive therapies are a pillar in achieving and sustaining these changes,” he noted.
Dr. Cepeda stated that there is currently a wide range of options to treat obesity.
“Weight loss pharmacotherapy can be used for people with BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 or BMI ≥ 27 kg/m2 with adiposity-related complications, along with medical nutrition therapy, physical activity, and psychological interventions (liraglutide 3, 0 mg, combination of naltrexone with bupropion and orlistat) (Wharton, 2020)”, he stressed.
In addition, he mentioned that there are other supplements that can be adjuvants for exercise therapies, such as L-carnitine, Garcinia Camboya, Magnesium, among other natural stimulants and physiological energizers that allow adherence to exercise and reduce exhaustion.
Bariatric Surgery
Dr. Cepeda highlighted the benefits of bariatric surgery for a better quality of life.
It states that bariatric surgery can be considered for people with a BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2 or a BMI ≥ 35 kg/m2 with at least one disease related to adiposity.
This provides innumerable benefits (Warthon, 2022):
•Reduce global mortality in the long term.
•Induce significantly better long-term weight loss compared to medical treatment alone.
•Induce control and remission of type 2 diabetes.
•Significantly improve the quality of life.
•Induce long-term remission of most adiposity-related diseases, including dyslipidemia, hypertension, hepatic steatosis, and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.
He clarified that the type of surgical intervention will depend a lot on the needs of the patient and the specialist’s considerations. “This type of intervention is always discussed with the person and the family member in order to make the best decisions in favor of the patient,” she said.
