Managing obesity

Managing obesity involves many things, such as diet changes, physical activity, behaviour therapy (counselling), medications, and surgery. You and your doctor will decide on a plan that works best for you depending on your individually circumstances. Your health care team for a weight management plan may include your doctor, a nurse, a dietician, an exercise specialist, and a psychologist or counsellor.

Planning a healthy diet for weight loss is an important part of obesity treatment. The ideal diet is one that you can maintain with lifestyle changes that are individualized for your particular situation.

Television and magazines include endless advertising for various weight loss programs and "fad" diets. Even if you do manage to lose the weight with these weight loss programs and diets, it can be very difficult to keep the weight off.

Inactive lifestyles are the cause of 25% of deaths due to heart disease in Canada and are a major contributing factor to obesity. And yet about 85% of Canadians do not meet the minimum recommended guidelines for physical activity.

In Canada, there are 2 prescription medications available for weight loss. These medications are used by people with a BMI of 30 or higher, and by people with a BMI of 27 or higher who also have other risk factors.

There are many products promoted for weight loss that do not require a doctor's prescription. It is therefore important that you talk to your doctor or pharmacist before using any over-the-counter products for weight loss.

For some people, diet, exercise, and medications are not enough to achieve their desired weight loss. For people who have tried other alternatives and remain severely obese, or are obese and have significant health risks, surgical procedures are effective treatment options to consider. Are you a candidate for surgery? Surgery may be an option if all of the following apply to you: You have a body mass index (BMI) of more than 40 or have significant risk factors (e.