Obesity Disease Summary

Overview

Obesity is a common chronic condition that impairs one's health and is defined in the Introduction section.

The prevalence of obesity regionally is high as reported by The Global Nutrition Report (GNR) and World Obesity Federation (WOF). A detailed discussion about this data is featured in the Epidemiology section.  

The Pathophysiology and Etiology sections provide an explanation on the causes of the development of obesity.

Absolute risk status can be identified based on the presence of certain disease conditions, obesity-associated diseases, cardiovascular diseases and other factors and these are enumerated in the Risk Factors section. 

History and Physical Examination

Information that is necessary in diagnosing obesity should be elicited and this is listed in the History section.

In the Physical Examination section, aside from taking the patient’s blood pressure and assessing the mental status, anthropometric measures to be taken to classify the severity of the patient’s obesity are discussed. 

Diagnosis

Several laboratory tests to be done to assess the comorbidities associated with obesity are included in the Laboratory Tests and Ancillaries section.

Alternative diagnoses for obesity are in the Differential Diagnosis section.

Management

The goals of treatment, management strategies and advantages of weight loss in obese patients are discussed in the Principles of Therapy section.

Factors to consider in choosing a therapeutic agent for obese patients and drug options that may aid in the management of obesity such as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, norepinephrine agents and Orlistat are analyzed in the Pharmacological Therapy section.

Several non-drug options to consider that may aid in the management of obesity which include diet restriction or modification are featured in the Nonpharmacological section. Surgery (eg bariatric surgery, metabolic surgery) is also a treatment option in severely obese patients, and this is further elaborated in the Surgery section.