Obesity Treatment in Birmingham, AL

What is Obesity?

Obesity is a complex disease involving an excess amount of body fat storage. Per estimates released by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in 2010, over 35% of adult Americans and 17% of American children are considered to be obese. These numbers continue to rise each year. The condition is caused by an imbalance in the proportion of energy taken into the body, as compared to the amount of energy expended by the body. At the toor of this imbalance are several factors including one’s lifestyle decisions with diet and exercise, hereditary disorders which increase your risk for obesity despite lifestyle choices, hypometabolism and metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes or PCOS, or hypothyroidism, as well as environmental factors such as poor access to quality foods.

Am I Obese?

BMI or Body Mass Index is the primary measurement used to determine whether an individual is overweight, obese or morbidly obese. An individual with a BMI between 25-30% is considered overweight. A person with a BMI of between 31-35% is considered obese and a BMI between 35-40% is considered severely obese. When one has surpassed their optimum weight by 100 pounds or more, or has a BMI in excess of 40%, they are considered to be morbidly obese. Patients who are obese have a more difficult time losing weight and keeping that weight off.  As weight increases it gets even harder to lose. You can calculate your BMI by entering your height and weight into our BMI calculator.

Should I Consider Weight Loss Surgery?

Obesity is not a cosmetic concern, it is a health concern. Unfortunately once someone’s BMI exceeds 35 they have less than a 1 in 1000 chance of losing weight and keeping that weight off with diet and exercise alone. Morbid obesity significantly increases your risks for these disorders.

Dietary changes, increased physical activity and behavior changes can help you lose weight. Unfortunately, once someone becomes severely obese(BMI > 35), there is only a 5% chance that they will be able to successfully lose and maintain their weight loss with diet and exercise alone. Weight-loss surgery may be the best option to treat your obesity. Weigh loss surgery is recognized by The National Institutes of Health (NIH) as the only effective form of long term weight loss for severely or morbidly obese patients.