Eating a healthy diet is the key to controlling weight. It’s also important to make smart choices when it comes to physical activity.
Control your portions and choose low-calorie foods. Eat more vegetables and fruit, whole grains, and lower-fat or fat-free dairy products. Skip high-calorie items like desserts, soda and fried foods.
Obesity is a complex metabolic disease
Obesity is a chronic disease caused by excessive body fat, most often in the form of abdominal (visceral) fat. Visceral fat increases the risk for systemic inflammation, insulin resistance and hyperlipidaemia. It also contributes to cardiovascular disease and a host of metabolic disorders, such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart failure, sleep apnea and fatty liver. It is a major cause of morbidity and mortality and is associated with low quality of life.
Several factors contribute to obesity, including genetics, diet and lifestyle choices like lack of exercise. People who work desk jobs and spend most of their time sitting, rely on cars for transportation and tend to watch TV or browse the internet for relaxation are at greater risk for obesity. It is worth noting that some obese people do not develop metabolic syndrome and are regarded as’metabolically healthy’. However, they have a higher risk for developing these disorders later in life.
At U-M Health we offer a variety of programs to support you on your weight control journey
The methods used in our programs vary depending on your unique circumstances and preferences. But they all share one goal: to promote improved health. That might mean a change in your diet, regular exercise and other lifestyle changes, medication use or bariatric surgery.
Michigan Medicine has gathered experts from many specialties — including nutrition, exercise physiology and personal training, mental health, gastroenterology, cardiology, endocrinology and bariatric surgery — to help patients navigate their weight control journeys. The team also works with researchers across U-M to better understand obesity, and offers research opportunities for patients and their families.
A program called the Weight Navigation Program, designed by Griauzde and senior author and endocrinologist Andrew Kraftson, brings obesity medicine specialists to primary care clinics. Patients referred to the program meet with a specialist for a specialized assessment and in-depth discussion of their options — from individualized diet plans to anti-obesity medications to weight loss surgery. They are then given a customized treatment plan that is coordinated with their primary care provider, and their progress is tracked over time.