B M I n O B E S I T Y BMI is commonly

Family Medicine

B M I n O B E S I T Y BMI is commonly used to diagnose overweight and obesity, often in conjunction with measurement of waist circumference. Leading guidelines, such as those produced by the American Association for Clinical Endocrinology (AACE),the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE),[2] and the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO),consider a BMI of 30 kg/m2 to be the threshold for obesity, and describe 3 classes of obesity, rising in severity from low-risk/class 1 (between 30.0 and 34.9 kg/m2), through moderate-risk/class 2 (between 35.0 and 39.9 kg/m2), to high-risk/class 3 (≥40.0 kg/m2). Lower BMI thresholds may be recommended for black African, African-Caribbean, and Asian (particularly South Asian) populations in order to trigger action to reduce the risk for comorbid conditions. For example, in the NICE guidelines, a BMI of 23.0 kg/m2 in these groups indicates increased risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and 27.5 kg/m2 indicates a high risk. Obesity is a global epidemic and its prevalence more than doubled between 1980 and 2014. In 2014, more than 1.9 billion adults (≥18 years), which is 39% of all adults, had overweight. More than 600 million had obesity, representing 13% of all adults. The fundamental cause of obesity and overweight is an imbalance between calories consumed and expended. Changes in dietary and physical-activity patterns worldwide have led to the increase in obesity and overweight.Obesity is a serious chronic condition that is associated with multiple comorbidities and decreased life expectancy.An increase in BMI increases a person's risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), and obesity is an independent risk factor for CVD.It also increases the risk for T2DM; fatty liver disease; musculoskeletal disorders, in particular osteoarthritis; and some cancers, including breast, colon, kidney, and pancreatic cancer.Higher BMIs are also associated with cognitive/mood disorders, obstructive sleep apnea, gallstones, and gastroesophageal reflux. Classes 2 and 3 obesity are associated with significantly higher all-cause mortality than class 1 obesity and normal weight.Other factors, such as waist circumference, also contribute to the increased risk for obesity-related disease. As well as fat accumulation, fat distribution is related to obesity-related mortality and morbidity. Central obesity, also known as the apple shape, confers a higher risk than general obesity for several chronic diseases.In recent years, there has been a broadening of focus from BMI alone, so that the management of obesity-related comorbidities is also a priority Physical-activity counseling is an integral part of obesity management, but would not be effective on its own. EASO guidelines recommend that pharmacological therapy is considered in patients who are overweight or who have class 1 obesity if they also have comorbidities. Treatment guidelines recommend that the first stage in managing patients with obesity is to assess their views of their weight and the diagnosis, as well as the possible reasons for weight gain. Failure to engage patients and to convince them of the benefits of lifestyle interventions aimed at weight loss is likely to result in the lifestyle interventions being less effective. Therefore, this is an important first step. Eating patterns and physical-activity levels should be explored, as well any beliefs about diet, exercise, and weight gain that may be unhelpful to the patient. The physician should find out if the patient has already tried to lose weight and how successful these efforts were. They should assess the patient's confidence and willingness to engage in a weight-loss program. The health and other risks of obesity should be explained, as well as the benefits of weight loss and increasing physical-activity levels. The physician should be aware that a patient's feelings about obesity and other health problems, such as surprise or denial, may reduce their willingness or ability to change. For this reason, it may help to stress that obesity is a clinical condition with specific implications for health, rather than something that focuses on how a patient looks. It has reported a divergence in the perception of obesity between people with obesity and the clinicians treating them. For example, 65% of people with obesity consider obesity to be primarily a lifestyle disease and 44% think it is possible to have obesity and be healthy, compared with 88% and 4%, respectively, for clinicians. Barriers can be motivational, such as lack of willpower, emotional/personal, such as eating habits, or practical/systemic, such as medication costs or lack of support services. A comprehensive lifestyle intervention is a fundamental part of the management of obesity. This consists of lifestyle/behavioral training, a dietary calorie-reduction plan, and increased physical activity.When developing a weight-loss plan for a patient, the main requirement is that total energy intake is less than total energy expenditure.This will help address the imbalance of energy regulation that characterizes obesity. Obesity develops when the body's weight and energy regulatory mechanisms do not work properly, leading to an elevated body fat "set point," ie, the amount of fat the body wants to retain. The energy intake behavior of an individual is determined by whether he or she is at, above, or below the set point. Diets with a daily deficit of 600 kcal, leading to a 5% to 10% reduction in current body weight over 6 months, are considered to be realistic and have proven health benefits.Lower-calorie diets with an intake of 800 to 1600 kcal/day can be considered, but they are less nutritionally complete. Very low-calorie diets (<800 kcal/day) should not be routinely used to manage obesity. Evidence from systematic reviews suggests that, although initial weight loss is more rapid with very low-calorie diets, weight change after 1 year is not very different from comprehensive approaches. Physical activity is part of a comprehensive lifestyle intervention. Although it may have only modest effects on weight loss, it will bring other benefits, such as a reduction in the risk for T2DM and CVD.Physical activity also helps to preserve fat-free mass during weight loss and promote weight maintenance. People who have had obesity but have lost weight may need to do 60 to 90 minutes of activity per day to avoid regaining weight. Weight loss is difficult to achieve for most patients with obesity because a desire to restrict caloric intake is counteracted by biological responses to weight loss. The reduction in energy expenditure and increase in appetite that occur after weight loss are associated with changes in several hormones. Some of the hormonal changes result in altered physiology that leads to weight gain, whereas other changes lead to improvements in hormonal systems as the patient gets closer to a healthy weight. Weight-loss medications aim to reinforce the patient's efforts to change eating behaviors and produce an energy deficit.Most promote weight loss through their effects on appetite -- increasing satiety and decreasing hunger. It is possible that satiety signaling and inhibitory control are weaker in people who are prone to obesity. Many treatment guidelines recommend that weight-loss medication is considered for patients with a BMI ≥30 kg/m2 or a BMI ≥27 kg/m2 if they also have 1 or more comorbidities and a history of failure to lose weight.The inclusion of comorbidities in the criteria reinforces the benefits of weight loss for people with obesity-related disease. ORLISTAT Unlike most weight-loss medications, orlistat is a reversible gastric and pancreatic lipase inhibitor that blocks absorption of 30% of ingested fat from a 30% fat diet when taken at the recommended dosage (120 mg 3 times per day). It is approved for use in adults and adolescents, is considered one of the safest drugs in its category, and is available in most countries around the world. However, it has well-documented GI adverse events, such as fecal leakage, which limit its popularity. NALTREXONE/BUPROPION This is a sustained-release combination of an opioid receptor antagonist (naltrexone) and a noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor (bupropion). Naltrexone has a minimal weight-loss effect on its own,but it acts synergistically with bupropion to stimulate central melanocortin pathways and antagonize inhibitory feedback loops that limit weight reduction. This leads to improved energy expenditure and a reduction in appetite.The maximum total daily dose is 32 mg naltrexone/360 mg bupropion.Naltrexone/bupropion is associated with increased BP, so it should be avoided in patients whose hypertension is not controlled, and BP should be monitored in the initial phase of therapy. The most common adverse events are nausea, headache, vomiting, anxiety, and insomnia. The risk for GI events can be minimized by gradual titration. Other anti obesity drug is Liraglutide but this and Naltrexone are not available n approved in India by FDA .Only Bupropion is available but at present is used in smoking cessation n in depression.

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