Morbid obesity is a rather depressing term, but it is also useful. By classifying serious obesity as a life-threatening disease, health care professionals and institutions in the United States are able to have Medicare or private health insurance pay for obesity treatments. Generally, a person is classified as morbidly obese if he has a body mass index or BMI, greater than 40. The BMI is a measurement of weight relative to height -- a healthy BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9; 25 to 29.9 is classified as overweight and anything above 30 is considered obese. The treatment options outlined in this article should not be relied upon for medical advice. Consult with a doctor for help considering your personal options.
Diet and Exercise
One option for treating morbid obesity is through a combination of dietary therapy and an exercise regime. Dietary therapy involves precise instructions from a doctor or nutritionist regarding how many calories and other nutrients should be consumed each day. A moderate reduction in calories, combined with an increase in calories burned through exercise, is the best way to lose weight slowly but steadily, according to the Obesity Action Coalition. Morbidly obese patients may be prescribed a low-fat diet, a low-calorie diet or a very-low-calorie diet. Exercise regimes may need to be modified for the morbidly obese patient in order to avoid placing extra stress on the heart and joints. Seated exercise or non weight-bearing exercise such as swimming may be good choices if you are morbidly obese.
Medication
Drug treatment is another option for morbid obesity which is typically used in conjunction with diet, exercise and lifestyle changes. Anti-obesity medication may be the most suitable method of treatment if you are morbidly obese but physically unable to exercise. Some of the more commonly prescribed anti-obesity drugs are orlistat, sibutramine, rimonabant, metformin, exenatide and pramlintide. All these drugs carry potential risks and side effects, and should only be taken under medical supervision. Sibutramine, sold as Reductil, lost its European marketing authorisation in January 2010. According to the UK National Health Service's Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, sibutramine's authorisation was suspended because the European Medicines Agency found that the benefits of this drug were outweighed by its cardiovascular risks.
Surgery
Surgical options to treat morbid obesity are typically only considered if your BMI is greater than 40, or if you have a BMI between 35 and 40 with additional medical conditions which are affected by your weight . In obesity surgery, which is also known as bariatric surgery or lapband surgery, the stomach or intestines are surgically altered so as to physically limit the amount of food which can be eaten. Naturally, there are inherent risks in such a surgery, which should be discussed with your doctor before you make any decision. For obese patients, the cardiac risks associated with surgery and general anesthetic may be greater than for the general population. Surgery does have the advantage of speeding weight loss when a patient's obesity is imminently life-threatening.
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