OR obesity is one of the biggest problems of people in recent years and its treatment has entered a new era.
The way obesity will now be treated has entered a new era thanks to the understanding of the mechanism that determines it, as well as the new treatments developed on it.
Specialist pathologist Katerina Barbagianni explains how obesity is not an aesthetic problem. Not even the few extra pounds we have to lose in order to go to the beach in the summer. Obesity is a disease and is associated with more than 200 complications or comorbidities.
Scientific progress has recently led to the development and release of a new generation of drugs, which are already on the market in Greece both for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity.
In a revealing interview, the expert sheds light on how these new drugs work, answers the question of whether they are truly ‘revolutionary’ and explains the role of science in alleviating a problem that affects millions of people.
Obesity: Why the pounds come back
As the doctor points out, there is a “primordial mechanism”, a complex neuro-hormonal system – which prevents people from losing weight, but also from maintaining their weight over time.
Exercise and nutrition are at the top of the treatment methods, as stated by Ms. Barbagianni, however scientists now know that they may not be enough.
“Too many people try again and again to lose weight, through exercise and diet, and after a while the weight comes back on. Again and again. And these people are even hungrier. This happens because food for the body is energy and the body needs energy. And without energy, primitive man could not live. All the systems of the human body have been developed in such a way as to store this energy. So every time a person tries to lose weight, his brain perceives it as a “life-threatening situation” and tries to regain it. And it does this through a complex neuro-hormonal system. Hormones change in a nutshell. The hormones that cause hunger increase and the hormones that cause the feeling of satiety, fullness, decrease.”
The endocrinologist explains that the new treatments are based on the understanding of the specific mechanism.
By Gianna Soulaki\ Source: iatropedia