Chronic disease, not lifestyle disorder: Doctors call for increased obesity awareness
MANILA, Philippines — Filipino doctors are calling for more public awareness to treat obesity as a chronic disease, not merely as a lifestyle disorder.
Global healthcare company Novo Nordisk hosted an obesity roundtable last June 10 in Taguig, where physicians spoke about the increasing numbers of obesity in the Philippines.
Dr. Neslie Buena-Bobis, medical director for the company in the Philippines, shared data from the World Health Organization, World Obesity Atlas, and other global obesity research that showed the global prevalence of obesity and cardiovascular diseases.
In 2019, over 500 million people had cardiovascular disease, and it is predicted there will be a billion people with obesity in the world by 2030.
Buena-Bobis added that there are a "couple hundred diseases linked with obesity," and explained it cannot be simply explained by calories going in and out because there are other factors involved, such as genetics, behavior, and one's environment.
Oncologist Cyrus Pasamba, senior medical manager at Novo Nordisk Philippines, defined obesity as "abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may impair health."
The most common way to check if one is obese is looking at one's body mass index, calculated by dividing one's weight in kilograms by the square of their height in meters.
Pasamba, however, pointed out that the international classifications is not an absolute point as Asians have different body types. This is the reason why Asians should also check weight circumference among other parameters.
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Pasamba explained the difference between subcutaneous fat (love handles or what Filipinos call "bilbil") and visceral fat, and Asians store visceral fat before the "bilbil," which is more worrisome because there is a higher cardiovascular risk.
He reiterated Buena-Bobis' earlier statement that weight loss cannot be just explained by energy intake and expenditure, given that the mind may set an ideal weight because of hedoic input and the environment one is in.
The doctor added that obesity affects a person's mechanical and mental abilties, and it often takes six years for someone to consult a specialist after self-help.
The company's country general manager Wei Sun said that four out of 10 Filipinos are considered obese, based on the latest statistics according to Asia-Pacific paremeters. Pasamba said that this figure would grow to five in 10 if the numbers included pre-obese Filipinos.
For most indivuduals, the first choice of treatment for obesity are lifestyle modications like going on a diet and exercising.
Pasamba said a reduction of caloric intake by 500KCal/day and up to 30 minutes of mild to moderate intensity exercise daily could lead to losing one pound per week.
The doctor, however, said that these may not be enough because there are instances of relapse where people gain the weight back over time.
This is why some people may opt to have behavioral interventions, like therapy and counseling, for up to 5% weight loss. They could also take medicines, which would lead to 5 to 15% weight loss or choose to undergo surgical intervention resulting in as much as 30% weight loss.
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