To understand how to treat obesity, one must first know and understand what obesity is and then know the difference contributing factors that lead to obesity.

Obesity is a term that is used for those individuals who have more fat tissue in the body in abundance of what is necessary to have. On average healthy males have between 15% to 20% of their total body weight in the form of fat tissue. For an average healthy female however, an additional 10% body fat is required for female characteristics. Therefore, an average healthy female should have between 20% to 30% of their weight as fat tissue.

Fat tissue is necessary for many functions of the body such as insulation, calorie reserve, and other hormonal functions. However, problems start arising if individuals produce and carry more than the healthy body fat percentage (30% for female and 20% for male). This is where the term over fat or overweight begins and at a certain body fat percentage is when we label the individual as obese.

Obesity, traditionally has been falsely labeled as a behavioral disorder. Those who labeled obesity as a behavioral disorder had the common thinking process that “if you eat less, and exercise more” then there should be no problems. Therefore, the individual was blamed for their behaviors as the cause of their obesity.

However, advancements in medicine and research has enlightened us about the falsehood of the above idea. Today, obesity is known as a medical condition which is not entirely linked to behavioral issues such as lack of exercise or increased eating. The Surgeon General and American Medical Association were the first to change their definition of obesity more than a decade ago. Fortunately, most medical organizations have officially changed their definition of obesity to “obesity is a disease”. This needs to be under the care of and treated by a specialized physician. American Society of Bariatric Physicians or Obesity Specialists has led the way in training and specializing physicians in the field of obesity management.

Payam Kerendian, DO has been practicing bariatric medicine as an Obesity Specialist in Los Angeles for the past 12 years and suggest the best method to treat obesity is to treat the individual patient as a unique individual and not another obese patient. Personalized care is what has made such patients overcome their obesity and all the medical problems linked to their obesity. Such personalized care is best carried out by an obesity specialized physician.

First step would be for the physician to get to know the individual who is struggling with obesity, and get to know their medical and behavioral history along with other aspects of that person’s life which may help in the treatment process and personalization of care. The second step would be an in-depth laboratory testing which would evaluate the multitude of different physiological and hormonal causes that may induce that individuals body to be prone to weight gain (despite of their good eating and exercise behaviors).

The third step would be to tailor make a long-term treatment plan and to explain to the individual the different physiological and hormonal issues that may be preventing their body from reacting to exercise and diet appropriately. This treatment plan can and must be comprehensive in nature (because obesity is not a simple process). The below factors must be addressed in any comprehensive weight management planning. And they must be objectively treated rather than based on guesswork.

• Replenish any deficiencies in the body
  • Micronutrients
  • Macronutrients
  • Enzymes
  • Hormones
  • Metabolic processes
• Stimulate metabolism utilizing one or more of the following
  • behaviors
  • nutraceuticals
  • pharmaceuticals
• Structure an agreed-upon eating regimen
  • establish an eating frequency
  • establish a set calorie intake
  • establish a set protein intake
  • possible utilization of meal replacement options
• Establish an agreed-upon activity level or exercise program
• Define a long-term maintenance expectation
  • this can and must be with the guidance of your obesity specialist
• Help the patient with every step of care