Obesity in adults

The obese patient should be advised to follow guidelines for the treatment of obesity.[1]Jensen MD, Ryan DH, Apovian CM, et al; American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines; Obesity Society. 2013 AHA/ACC/TOS guideline for the management of overweight and obesity in adults: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines and The Obesity Society. Circulation. 2014 Jun 24;129(25 suppl 2):S102-38. https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/01.cir.0000437739.71477.ee http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24222017?tool=bestpractice.com Patient care consists of:

• Hypocaloric diet

• Physical activity

• Adjunctive psychological therapy (as an adjunct to diet and exercise).

Adjunctive pharmacotherapy or bariatric surgery may also be considered for some patients. See Management Approach.

Clinicians may wish to consider referring overweight or obese patients to a commercial weight-loss programme.[109]Gudzune KA, Doshi RS, Mehta AK, et al. Efficacy of commercial weight-loss programs: an updated systematic review. Ann Intern Med. 2015 Apr 7;162(7):501-12. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4446719 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25844997?tool=bestpractice.com

Online patient information from recommended websites may be helpful. NHS: obesity Opens in new window