Shaping a Healthier Future: Strategies and Insights for Effective Obesity Management
Obesity and related illnesses have soared and could affect four billion people by 2035, creating an urgent need for effective obesity management strategies. It is far too easy to dismiss those extra centimetres on your waistline as a middle-age spread or sign of good living. Firstly, weight gain is not an inevitable consequence of ageing; secondly, it is more likely evidence of an unhealthy lifestyle.
Many technological advances that appear to make our lives easier have also had an adverse influence. Instead of enjoying more physical activities like walking to the shops and around a mall, we prefer to drive when a visit is unavoidable. However, whenever possible, we seize the opportunity to shop and do our banking online from the comfort of an armchair.
In addition to this more sedentary lifestyle, the modern diet has increased the need for obesity management. Highly processed foods contain additives that have been shown to inhibit the effect of the hormones that regulate appetite, leaving us feeling hungry even after eating a big meal.
Not surprisingly, most doctors recommend a healthier diet and more exercise as the keys to weight management. However, adhering to their recommendations requires patience and self-discipline. Hence, many prefer to seek a quick fix.
Options for Obesity Management
It is essential to understand that obesity is more than a cosmetic issue. It is a leading cause of cardiovascular diseases like heart attacks, aneurysms and strokes and has strong links to Type 2 diabetes. Nevertheless, many people are prepared to undergo surgery to rid themselves of excess body fat.
- Liposuction: This involves removing subcutaneous fat cells by applying suction via a cannula inserted into the treatment area. It’s expensive, risky and is not an effective weight loss treatment without diet and exercise.
- Gastric Band Surgery: An adjustable band around the stomach creates a small pouch, reducing the amount of food one can ingest before feeling full. Sleeve gastrectomy and an intra-gastric balloon are alternative methods of surgical obesity management. However, these are all extreme measures and carry the usual risks associated with any surgical procedure.
- Probiotics: Research has shown a relationship between the microorganism population of the gastrointestinal tract, or gut microbiome, and body mass index. More specifically, disturbances in the natural balance of this population have been associated with weight gain, type 2 diabetes and bowel problems.
Foods like yoghurt, sauerkraut, kefir, soft, aged cheese and green olives contain probiotics that might prove helpful in encouraging the growth of beneficial gut bacteria. However, these are not to everyone’s taste, and their probiotic content is too inconsistent to serve as a reliable weight management strategy. Also, excess alcohol intake can inhibit the growth of intestinal flora.
The strategies described are promising, but although gastric surgery limits calorie intake, it does not rectify bad dietary choices. However, there is now a better option.
The Role of Gut Bacteria in Obesity Management
Research into the composition and functions of the gut microbiome has revealed an inverse relationship between obesity and the number of the bacterium Akkermansia muciniphila present. Two prominent researchers have since founded a company to manufacture a novel EFSA-approved supplement containing pasteurised Akkermansia. Taken as a food supplement, this will increase Akkermansia levels in the human gut. This supplement will also help with glucose control and weight management. Why not contact The Akkermansia Company and start your journey to better health today?
