Obesity Treatment Methods

06/25/2024

Eleni P. Andreou, Clinical Dietician

The treatment of obesity can not be one-dimensional. The ideal treatment method should have the following characteristics:

  • Development / Behaviour  Modification
  • Proper Nutrition
  • Exercise
  • Group support

A. Behaviour  Modification
Although an individual’s response to the Behaviour Modification methods is different, self-control seems to have the best results for the obesity treatment. The programs that are based on self-control:

Focus on behaviour
The person learns to do certain things differently. The behaviour al change must be specific and visible. The person's behaviour  is formed through the interaction with his/her environment. For example, the person may have learned from an early age that when opening a bag of chips he/she must eat the whole content at once. This behaviour  can change by saying: "when I open the bag, I will place the amount I want to eat in a plate, I will close the bag and put back in the cabin, and then I will start eating”.

Change habits graduallySome habits examples are:

  • small and frequent meals
  • drinking water before, during and after the meal to reach the feeling of being full
  • regular exercise
  • visit to a supermarket when we are not "hungry". Doing grocery shopping when you are hungry can lead you to spontaneously purchase of useless and "fattening" foods.

Provide an educational approach
The person learns how to analyze the patterns of his/her own behaviour  and to use specific methods to change these patterns. Dr. Steven Kopel and Hal Akowitz of the Rutgers Medical School who studied the issue, found that when a person relates the change of his/her behaviour  in his/her own efforts, the behaviour  change may become permanent. In the content of a strict diet, forbidding the consumption of certain favourite foods can result in making these foods more desirable to the individual. Therefore, with self-control the person is taught which foods to include in his/her diet   (dosage and alternatives).

Do not require perfection
The demand for perfection from the dietitian or the individual who diets himself/herself predisposes failure. Self-control methods aim in reducing the likelihood of problematic behaviour  occurring (eg overeating when someone is sad or alone). The person can escape from the demanded behaviour  - the success of self-control lies in knowing that the person can keep trying until he/she succeeds. Problematic behaviour s can change be using either methods of "priority control" (motivation) or methods "consistency control" (support).

Priority Control Methods:1.
Monitoring - Writing in a Diary

Before a person can make changes to his/her behaviour  he/she must determine the nature of the problem. So, keeping a diary of his/her daily activities, each repetitive problematic behaviour  may be identified.

The information that should be written in the dairy:

  • HOUR OF MEAL
  • FOOD / BEVERAGE CONSUMED
  • QUANTITY FOOD CONSUMED
  • DURATION OF MEAL
  • DEGREE OF HUNGER
  • FEELINGS OR SITUATIONS THAT AFFECTED THE CHOSEN MEAL
  • PLACE
  • COMPANY
  • ACTIVITIES DURING THE MEAL
  • IF WHEN EATING THE PERSON WAS STANDING/ SITTING/LAYING DOWN
  • EXERCISE

2. Environmental Planning (motivation)
Some people can’t enter their kitchen without eating something. Others eat because they are anxious. Different people are affected by different environmental motives that make them eat.

So when an individual realizes these weaknesses he/she can organize / plan to deal with the problem. The purpose of this planning is to break the correlation of these motives with food. For example, if your problem is that you eat out of control in front of the TV, you can set as a rule to only eat in the kitchen table and prepare your plate before you sit at the table.

3. Objectives
Set your own realistic goals. For example, a realistic goal is to achieve a weight loss of ½ -1 kg per week.

Methods for consistency control (Support)
1. Self-reinforcement
Self- reinforcement refers to the reward given after a desired behaviour  occurs. The rewards can be given for weight loss, changes in eating habits or exercise. The rewards should not include activities with food. For example, after I lose 5 pounds, I will eat at my favorite Chinese restaurant.

2. Self-punishment
Self-punishment (eg, to cancel a night out because the person did not lose weight) is a form of negative - support when someone eats a lot, does not exercise. But research has shown that rewarding gives better results than punishment in the issue of weight-loss.

4. Environmental support
This method suggests that the individual should be in an environment where his/her efforts of weight control are supported.

B. Healthy Diet for Weight Loss
A diet (or a better diet plan) to be considered healthy, safe and effective for weight loss, must meet the following criteria.

  • To satisfy all the nutritional needs of the individual (nutrients and sufficient calories to allow weight loss ½-1kg per week; Minimum amount calories of 1200 / day)
  • To prevent or minimize hunger
  • Be tailored to the lifestyle, habits and tastes of the individual
  • To include types of foods that are easy to acquire or prepare and are socially acceptable
  • To encourage long-term changes in dietary patterns of the individual

C. Exercise (systematic and long habit)

D. Support Group
Support group is the only exception in long-term habits. The purpose of these groups is to support those people who find it difficult to lose weight on their own. These individuals may need to join a group to share the 'burden' of the same problem and the solution to this problem. But the person should not be dependent to the group in order to achieve the desired weight loss. During the time a person spends in a weight loss program will help him/she to learn new techniques and to begin to develop the strength and dedication to continue the struggle of weight loss and maintaining the desired results. Finally, to effectively help obese or overweight individuals a direct cooperation of the person with a dietitian / clinical dietitian, trainer / Exercise Physiologists and sometimes a psychologist, is necessary.

Eleni P. Andreou, RD, LD, DProf can
Clinical Dietician