Obesity center
Obesity center - Description
Obesity has become a serious public health problem. In the USA the percentage of people who are obese has tripled in 20 years and 20% of the population are now obese (BMI over 30 kg/m).
Obesity directly causes more than 300,000 deaths per year in that country.
In Belgium it is estimated that 10 to 12% of the population are obese, including children.
The basic approach to the treatment of obesity involves strict dietary measures combined with radical changes in lifestyle, in some cases under medical supervision.
In morbidly obese patients (BMI >35), these measures are unfortunately often disappointing, since the effect is transitory and reversible (yo-yo effect of dieting) so that gastrointestinal surgery becomes a first-line treatment option.
Our unit provides a full workup and management of obesity-related problems, including so-called bariatric surgery.