Obesity in adults

Presentation of obesity may range from asymptomatic to presentation complicated by multiple comorbidities, including cancer, CAD, diabetes, hypertension, gout, obstructive sleep apnoea, and osteoarthritis.

The definitive test for the diagnosis of obesity remains the BMI (obesity is defined as a BMI ≥30 kg/m^2).

Central or abdominal obesity has a stronger association with obesity-related comorbidity than peripheral (i.e., subcutaneous) obesity, so waist circumference may be a better indicator of the risk for obesity-related comorbidity than BMI.

The mainstay of non-surgical treatment of obesity is diet and exercise, with psychological therapy as a recommended adjunct for all patients. The risk of complications is low, but the overall efficacy and durability of this combination is poor.

Drug therapy may be considered as an adjunct to diet and exercise (never as monotherapy) for patients with a BMI ≥30 kg/m^2. Pharmacotherapy has modest short-term efficacy but a high attrition rate and a lack of long-term efficacy.

Surgical treatment is an option for patients with BMI ≥40 kg/m^2, or ≥35 kg/m^2 with significant comorbidities. In general, weight-reductive surgery works through manipulation of the stomach or small bowel, or a hybrid of both. Potential complications are numerous.

Obesity can be defined as a chronic adverse condition due to an excess amount of body fat. While there are many methods to determine the relative amount of body fat, the most widely used method to determine obesity is the BMI, defined as weight divided by height squared ([weight in kg]/[height in m]^2).[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. http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/129/25_suppl_2/S102.long http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24222017?tool=bestpractice.com [2]World Health Organization. Obesity: preventing and managing the global epidemic. Report of a WHO consultation. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2000. http://whqlibdoc.who.int/trs/WHO_TRS_894.pdf [3]Kopelman PG. Obesity as a medical problem. Nature. 2000 Apr 6;404(6778):635-43. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10766250?tool=bestpractice.com