Virginia has a master' degree in Education and a bachelors in Sports Medicine/athletic Training
Ryan is a 25-year-old male who has always been a little heavier than is friends. He is aware that his weight has steadily increased over the past 10 years. As his weight increases he finds it challenging to get around. Getting out of bed, getting out of chairs, walking, sleeping, even breathing is difficult for him to do. His family is concerned and asks him to seek medical help. Ryan goes to the doctor and learns he is not only obese, but is diagnosed as being morbidly obese. His morbid obesity is causing severe health problems for Ryan and it is critical that he deals with his weight now.
Morbid obesity is a medical diagnosis where a patient is 100 pounds over their ideal body weight, or has a BMI above 30. The Body Mass Index (BMI) is a way to measure a person's body fat based on their height and weight. The chart categorizes people into underweight, normal, overweight and obese. Morbid obesity is anything outside of the chart measurements. There is a chart available for adults and children. This chart is only a tool to help patients and physicians see how much fat the body contains. This is not a tool to diagnose morbid obesity.
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To properly diagnose morbid obesity a physician would need to do the following tests/exams on a patient:
Morbid obesity is caused by poor lifestyle choices (a high calorie diet and lack of physical activity). Medications, genetics, stress, anxiety, depression and sleeplessness which lead to overeating can also play a role in weight gain, but not to the point where it would lead to morbid obesity.
The only true symptom of morbid obesity is a BMI above 30. But, patients who have high BMI's tend to have very serious weight-related medical conditions.
Patients who are morbidly obese have very severe medical problems that are secondary conditions to the morbid obesity. When a patient has secondary conditions, it means that the conditions are occurring because of another ailment. In Ryan's scenario at the beginning of the lesson, difficulty breathing would be secondary to his morbid obesity. The great thing about secondary conditions is that once the primary condition is dealt with, the secondary condition will usually get better or go away completely.
Examples of secondary conditions to morbid obesity include:
The only way to treat this condition is for the patient to lose weight. But, this has to be a lifestyle change and not just a temporary fix or the weight will come back.
Patients that are morbidly obese are encouraged to seek the help of a health coach that can help educate them on how to make good diet and lifestyle choices, how to begin an exercise routine, and will recommend psychologists to help the patient recognize why they are overeating and how to deal with any signs of depression/anxiety caused by the weight.
Many patients are candidates for surgery to help with weight loss. There are a few surgical techniques that can be used, and all focus on shrinking the size of the stomach. If the stomach is smaller, less food can be consumed and less calories can be absorbed into the body.
A popular procedure is called stomach banding. It is a surgical procedure where a plastic band is placed around the top portion of the stomach. This band creates a new, smaller stomach. Once it gets full the patient feels full and stops eating. Digestion occurs like it normally would. Over time the patient eats less and loses weight.
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Morbid obesity is a medical condition where a person is 100 pounds over their ideal body weight or is above a 30 on the BMI chart. This type of obesity is mainly caused by poor eating habits and lack of physical activity. Patients that are diagnosed with morbid obesity usually have very serious medical conditions because of the excess weight. Treatment options for morbid obesity include weight loss in the form of diet, exercise, counseling and possibly surgery to reduce the size of the patient's stomach.
Medical Disclaimer: The information on this site is for your information only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice.
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