Treatment of obesity in men

Excess weight is a common cause of complexes, because because of it it is not possible to choose beautiful clothes, look attractive, feel confident and free. It is also harmful to health. As a rule, against the background of obesity, arterial hypertension develops, the level of sugar and lipids in the blood rises. Paying special attention to their health is for men whose waist circumference exceeds 94 cm. They need to go to the doctor to check the level of sugar, testosterone and lipids in the blood, to measure blood pressure. The examination will determine if there are any concerns about obesity.

After all, few suspect how dangerous it is. Obesity-induced health problems mostly affect men over the age of 40. According to statistics, they make up about 15% of the total population. At the same time, if treatment of obesity is started on time, a positive result can be achieved quickly.

In most cases, in addition to significant fat deposits at the waist, men also suffer from the following pathologies:

• Elevated glucose levels (more than 5,6 mol / l), many are diagnosed with diabetes;

• Arterial hypertension (more than 130/85 mm Hg);

• Elevated levels of triglycerides (more than 1,7 mmol / l);

• Reduced amount of high density lipoproteins (less than 1,03 mmol / l).

Many people are forced to take drugs to combat these disorders.

Does obesity affect sex life?

Of decisive importance for male weight is height, food habits, the development of the muscular corset, health, as well as what kind of work a person is doing: mental or physical. Factors such as nationality or territory of residence do not affect weight in any way. In medicine, there is a generally accepted formula, on the basis of which, based on height and age, the optimal weight of a person is determined. It must necessarily correspond to a body mass index in the range from 18,5 to 24,9. You can calculate the indicator by multiplying your weight in kilograms by your height in meters squared. Table 1 shows BMI values ​​and their interpretation.

Table 1 – Interpretation of body mass index values

The distribution and deposition of adipose tissue in men and women occurs differently. When the fair sex recovers, they usually increase the volume of the hips, buttocks, and chest. Men have to deal with extra pounds, which are deposited mainly in the abdomen, which dramatically increases the risk of developing various diseases, including impotence. For this reason, along with the calculation of the body mass index, it is recommended to measure the waist circumference.

If it turns out to be higher than normal, men should undergo an examination and find out their testosterone level in the blood. Reduced levels of this hormone are a signal to lose weight, because if you do not put your health in order, sexual function will invariably suffer. Excess weight has an extremely negative effect on sexual life: most men have problems with potency already at the first stage of obesity.

Does genetics matter when shedding extra pounds?

Often, men who gain excess weight blame genetics for this. However, such a reason cannot be ruled out. Indeed, according to statistics, almost all representatives of the stronger sex who are obese had relatives who faced this problem. Obesity is caused by gene mutations. They are of several types and cause not only obesity, but also type XNUMX diabetes, as well as a number of other endocrine diseases.

The results of studies have shown that gene mutations are not manifested in all men. Of great importance is the way of life. Thus, even if there is a bad heredity, it is possible to prevent the development of obesity. This has been proven through experiment. An obese mother gave birth to identical twins, who were immediately separated. One of the kids grew up and was brought up with biological parents, and the other – with a foster family, where the principles of healthy eating were observed and sports were promoted. As a result, the first child became overweight, and the second managed to avoid such a problem.

Why fight obesity?

Even when the weight slightly exceeds the norm, the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases increases sharply. At the same time, when extra pounds go away, improvements in general health are immediately noticeable: blood pressure normalizes, cholesterol levels decrease, and the likelihood of diabetes decreases. Statistics show that obese men are much more likely to experience coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular complications.

If the waist circumference exceeds the established norm, problems may arise in the genital area. Due to obesity in men, sexual function is impaired. They have a decrease in attraction, impotence, infertility develops. Puberty problems also occur in boys if they are obese. Serious complications are caused by a malfunction in metabolism and a lack of testosterone production. At the same time, the amount of excess weight is important. The more it is, the more difficult it is for the body to produce testosterone.

Adipose tissue is where testosterone is converted into estrogen. Violations in this process lead to the gradual feminization of men and a decrease in sexual function. Excess weight not only negatively affects the production and activity of testosterone, but also on the central mechanisms of regulation of the functions of the entire male reproductive system. Obesity provokes a violation of carbohydrate and fat metabolism, the development of hypertensive and coronary heart disease, diabetes mellitus. All these consequences also have a negative impact on sexual function.

How to treat overweight?

It is important to understand that in medicine obesity is considered a chronic disease, therefore, the fight against it must be carried out in accordance with this by special methods. Extra pounds are deposited for years. To get rid of them, you should do a lot of work on yourself. Temporary dieting will give a short-lived result that cannot be fixed without changing your eating habits and lifestyle. Forcing yourself to forcibly exercise and give up your favorite foods is a difficult task. Therefore, it is important to find the optimal diet for yourself and choose the right type of physical activity. If the new way of life does not bring pleasure and everything has to be done through force, this will not be able to continue for a long time.

When treating obesity, you should not resort to too strict diets or categorically refuse food. Many people practice such weight loss, but it’s impossible to eat one product all their lives, for example, kefir. As a result, even if in this way it is possible to get rid of excess weight, it will quickly return and become even more than it was before the person began to diet. You need to set realistic goals and achieve them, for example, deciding to lose 5 kg in the next two months. It is important not only to set a task for yourself, but also to understand why it needs to be completed. With this approach, you will be able to lose weight and keep the results achieved.

A cause for concern is the excess of the value of the body mass index of 25. If a person is overweight and there are no diseases associated with obesity, then it is necessary to start the fight against it by changing your lifestyle. Thanks to this, it is possible to lose weight without harm to health.

If obesity is more pronounced, you will have to not only change your diet and add physical activity, but also use drug therapy. This will speed up the treatment of obesity. Severe obesity requires the use of surgical methods. In this case, the body mass index exceeds 40. A psychotherapist will help with the change in eating behavior.

Is it necessary to resort to drug therapy for obesity?

The process of losing weight usually takes a lot of time and involves:

• Compliance with the principles of proper nutrition;

• Regular exercise or any other physical activity;

• The use of drug therapy;

• Performing surgery if there is a threat to life with obesity.

The best option is to treat obesity through diet and active lifestyle. However, a balanced diet and physical education in some cases turn out to be ineffective even in combination. Usually, men do not turn to specialists for a long time, who could quickly identify the cause of overweight, determine what caused violations in sexual function, and conduct surgical treatment. When you need to lose weight very quickly, drug therapy comes to the rescue. When prescribing drugs, specialists should strive to ensure that the tablets do not cause various side effects. After all, medications that are used for obesity can affect both sexual function and metabolism.

Drugs used in the treatment of obesity

Drug therapy is used in combination with other methods of treating obesity. It allows you to speed up the process and increase the effectiveness of diet and exercise for weight loss. The main task of using drug therapy is to suppress the feeling of hunger. This makes it easier for patients to refuse large amounts of food that they are used to consuming. This goal can be achieved by special drugs, which are called anorexigenic.

There are several other groups of drugs used for obesity. Thermogenic agents allow you to speed up the metabolism and increase energy consumption in the body. Finally, some drugs can affect digestion. They limit the absorption of a number of substances that enter the body with food. Recently, hormone analogues and antagonists have also begun to be used in medicine, with the help of which it is possible to accelerate the process of saturation. The patient stops feeling hungry when a much smaller amount of food enters the stomach compared to the volume that would be required without taking the drugs.

In obese men, testosterone production is impaired. For this reason, it is important to stabilize the androgenic state. Low testosterone in the body stimulates the appearance of adipose tissue. In cases where all weight loss measures are ineffective, drug therapy is prescribed to quickly get rid of extra pounds. Table 2 presents the main groups of drugs used for weight loss.

Table 2 – Drugs used for obesity

Features of androgen therapy in obese men

Specialists such as an endocrinologist, a psychotherapist or a cosmetic surgeon can usually help with weight loss. It should be understood that the process of weight loss is not a temporary measure. It is important not only to achieve results, but also to keep yourself in shape in the future. Therefore, men who are faced with the problem of obesity are recommended to be under the supervision of an andrologist all their lives.

The influence of excess weight on sexual function is obvious. This proves, for example, that eunuchs tended to be obese, and this problem arose after the castration was carried out. Although those representatives of the stronger sex, in whom everything is normal with sexual function, as they gain excess weight, the level of testosterone decreases.

It is this factor that contributes to the development of obesity. After all, testosterone deficiency, in turn, causes a decrease in physical activity. To restore its level in the body in the treatment of obesity, androgen replacement therapy is used. Such a measure is considered pathogenetic, that is, it eliminates the very cause that leads to weight gain.

The main method of drug therapy in the treatment of obesity in men is the use of testosterone preparations. It can be tablets or gels. Intramuscular injections also allow normalizing testosterone levels. However, choosing a specific drug is not so easy, because it must be easy to use, effective and at the same time accessible to the patient.

What to do with low testosterone and overweight?

Treatment of obesity with a lack of testosterone in the body will not be effective without the normalization of hormonal levels. However, the elimination of these violations does not guarantee weight loss. To lose weight, you must strictly observe an important rule: the amount of energy coming from food should be less than the amount that is necessary for the functioning of the body.

You will have to adhere to this principle for the rest of your life. It cannot be equated with a diet, which is a temporary measure. The principle of rational nutrition must be known and followed not only by those who would like to lose weight, but by all, without exception, in order to be healthy and look good. It is important to include only natural and high-quality products in the diet. You should not starve, as this causes overeating. It is necessary to exclude from the diet foods such as sausages, fatty sauces, including mayonnaise, sausage and convenience foods. Meat or fish with vegetables for a side dish is a balanced and nutritious meal that will satisfy men’s hunger.

How to start new eating habits?

In Russia, one fifth of the entire male population suffers from obesity. These are only official statistics, but in reality there are much more cases of the disease. A common cause of excess weight is the wrong eating habits. They begin to form even when the child is in the womb, the nutrition of which largely affects the body of the unborn baby.

The spread of obesity today is associated with the growing popularity of fast food, as well as the special rhythm of life, where many often cannot find enough time to have a normal lunch. Because of this, you have to snack on the go, which leads to overeating and the appearance of excess weight, as usually tasty, but too high-calorie foods are used in this case.

To prevent the development of obesity, you must follow the following principles:

• Include a variety of foods in your diet

• Be sure to eat fresh vegetables and fruits;

• Do not give up bread and flour products, but limit their quantity;

• Do sports every day to keep fit;

• Do not exceed the allowable rate of fats and give preference to fats of vegetable origin;

• Give up fatty meat in favor of legumes, grains, fish and poultry;

• Control fat content in dairy products;

• Limit the amount of sugar and salt in the diet;

• When drinking alcohol, it should be remembered that no more than 20 g of pure alcohol should enter the body per day;

• Steam, bake or boil food.

Physical factors used in the treatment of obesity

In the treatment of obesity, proper nutrition should be supplemented with physical factors to achieve the best effect. Giving up your favorite foods and playing sports is hard at first, so you can supplement them with pleasant procedures. However, they must be prescribed by a doctor.

Among the physical factors for weight loss, the following should be preferred:

• Ozone therapies, which, having an immunomodulatory and antihypoxic effect, helps to quickly lose extra pounds and has a positive effect on the general well-being of the patient;

• Flower therapies, which allows, by influencing the eyes, to influence the regulatory structures of the brain, which in turn are able to improve the functioning of various systems in the body;

• Laser therapy – it allows you to improve blood circulation, increase cellular immunity;

• electrical stimulation, which acts on adipose tissue by means of an electric current, as a result of which metabolic processes are activated;

• hydrocolonotherapy – during this procedure, the lower intestines are cleansed, which helps prevent the effects of toxic products on the body;

• hydrotherapy procedures – help to improve metabolism, normalize the functioning of the central nervous system. Thanks to carbon dioxide, radon, sulfide, turpentine and other baths, cholesterol levels also decrease;

• Treatment with mineral waters, which allows you to remove excess fluid from the body and normalize metabolism.

• Mud treatment, which strengthens the immune system and stimulates tissue respiration.

What types of physical activity are indicated for overweight?

Proper nutrition and procedures are recommended to be combined with the following types of physical activity:

• Gymnastics;

• long walks;

• Tourism;

• Sports activities such as cycling, swimming, kayaking;

• Mobile sports games, for example, badminton, volleyball, tennis.

Regular physical activity helps not only to lose weight, but also improves overall well-being, and also serves as a prevention of various diseases. To move more, it is enough to get off a few stops earlier on the way home, refuse to use the elevator and go for walks. It is important to do this constantly in order to achieve results. Physical activity should also be enjoyable.

Those who have never played sports should gradually accustom their body to stress. In the presence of chronic diseases, it is necessary to consult a doctor before starting to exercise. Experts recommend calculating your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220. The resulting value is the number of beats per minute. In the first workouts for beginners, the pulse should be no more than 50% of the maximum allowable indicator calculated by the formula. After a few weeks, the body will get used to the load. In order for the effectiveness of training not to decrease, it is necessary to increase their intensity, as a result of which the pulse will already be at least 50% of the value obtained by the formula. In the future, it is necessary to continue to improve the results. Gradually, the number of strokes should increase and be 80% of the maximum allowable rate.

Good habits for weight loss

In the treatment of obesity, so that there is no temptation to eat something forbidden, you do not even need to buy it. You should go to the store with a list that can include only healthy and natural products.

No need to buy semi-finished products. When choosing meat, you should give preference to its least fatty varieties: beef, chicken, turkey, rabbit.

Many people say that they cannot afford to eat right because of the high cost of healthy products. However, this is misleading. After all, eating wrong, people buy sausages, cheeses, semi-finished products, pickles, sweets, cakes, cookies, the cost of which is much higher than the price of vegetables, fruits and cereals.

It is important not only to purchase healthy products, but also to prepare them correctly. It is allowed to bake, boil, stew vegetables and meat. Foods prepared with large amounts of oil and flavor enhancers should be avoided. It is important not to oversalt food, because it contributes to the development of edema.

You need to eat in small portions. Nutritionists recommend placing them in small plates so as not to overeat. You should learn to determine the real feeling of hunger, when the body really needs food, from the desire to chew something out of boredom or idleness. You should not tell everyone about the restrictions that you have to adhere to in order to lose weight. When visiting, you just need to choose the least high-calorie dishes.

You need to eat often, but in small portions. If you constantly feel strong hunger, then you need to change your diet. Intentionally depriving the body of food for a long time is not worth it, since in the future, after the stress experienced, it will begin to store adipose tissue even more actively. Dinner should be a few hours before bedtime. In between main meals, you can have a snack with fruit or cottage cheese.

No need to eat salted nuts, popcorn, chips, seeds. All these foods are high in calories and are usually consumed in large portions. When eating, you need to focus only on it, because if you read a book, scroll through the news feed on social networks or watch TV during lunch, you can get carried away and eat much more than you should.

Nutritionists recommend giving up alcohol. It is quite high in calories and can increase appetite. All dishes should be tasty, healthy and beautifully decorated so that you can enjoy not only their taste, but also their appearance. Snacks should be low-calorie foods. It can be any fruit, for example, an apple, a glass of kefir or yogurt, a little cottage cheese with berries.

Many, breaking loose and allowing themselves something forbidden, decide that they will never be able to lose weight and begin to eat the usual harmful foods. At such moments, the main thing is to control yourself and understand that nothing bad will happen from one sandwich or candy. Let there be pizza for dinner in the evening, but in the morning you need to return to proper nutrition. If a person has an eating disorder, he needs to see a specialist.

The most effective weight loss principle

Adhering to a balanced diet and playing sports, many losing weight forget about one important rule. According to it, you can not eat after 18:00. If you follow this principle and at the same time do not overeat during the day, move a lot, you can quickly achieve excellent results in weight loss, even without any special food restrictions.

The most high-calorie should be the first meal. It is at breakfast that the body receives most of the energy in order to function normally throughout the day. This meal is recommended to include complex and simple carbohydrates, as well as some protein. Lunch should be slightly less high-calorie, but dinner should be very light. After all, in the evening the body no longer needs a lot of energy, as the day is coming to an end.

For dinner, you can eat lean meat with a vegetable side dish, salad, or any other protein foods, such as cottage cheese. This last meal should be no later than 6 pm. After that, you can only drink clean water.

If you do not overeat, play sports and follow this important principle, extra pounds will go away very quickly.