Obesity

MHL currently features the following centre for obesity treatments

University Medical Centre (UKE), Hamburg, Germany

For the first time in human history, there are as many people suffering from obesity as from malnutrition. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), obesity is the fastest growing health risk.

Obese people are confronted with various potentially life-threatening health problems as well as psychological and social problems.

What causes obesity?

Obesity develops over a long period of time. The causes include a high calorie diet, excessive fat consumption, lack of portion control, lack of exercise and genetic predisposition. Usually a combination of these causes is responsible.

Genetic factors

For some obese people, genetic factors play a part in their excess weight. A lot of research has been done on genetic factors that might be linked to obesity.

The main reason for the increase of obesity is wealth, which has a major influence on our eating habits. Unbalanced diets, fast-food snacks high in fat, overly generous portions and highly sweetened soft drinks have negative impacts on energy balance. More calories are eaten than are necessary for everyday life.

Habits

NOTE: The following text is provided courtesy of the University Medical Centre, Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany

Weight loss

Treatment

In light of its many serious complications such as diabetes, vasoconstriction, stroke, circulatory disorders of the heart, high blood pressure, lipid metabolic disorders, gallstones, cancer, and joint problems, there is no doubt that obesity needs to be treated.

In most cases, repeated diets and regimens achieve only short-term weight reduction, which is usually followed by significant weight increase often beyond the initial weight. Energy balance must be regulated in the long-term to maintain successful weight loss.

Drug therapy to treat obesity is an option for patients with a BMI (body mass index) of at least 27 kg/m² and simultaneous presence of obesity-related diseases (e.g., type 2 diabetes mellitus or hypertension) or a BMI of at least 30 kg/m² without associated diseases. Dietary modifications and exercise therapy should be attempted first; drug therapy should be considered only if these approaches are not successful.

Drug therapy

If conservative (non-surgical) treatment options fail, surgical procedures for treating obesity may be a last resort for certain patients. The optimal treatment for each individual case can be recommended only after a comprehensive evaluation.

Surgery

The situation is further aggravated by the fact that physical activity at work and at home is clearly decreasing.

The Obesity Clinic at the Universtity Medical Centre, Hamburg offers drug treatments and operations, including bypass operations for severely obese patients over 60 Kg/m2 BMI. These include gastric band, sleeve gastrectomy, gastric bypass, duodenal switch, biliopancreatic diversion and remedial operations and all the back-up services of a major university teaching hospital are available.

Minimally invasive (laparoscopic) surgery is the norm and, wherever possible, single port techniques are used. These require only one incision, through natural body openings. This results in less post-operative pain and better cosmetic outcomes.

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