3. Weight loss aids: Western medicine, exercise, and surgical treatment.
Black fungus can replenish qi, relieve hunger, and promote a light and strong body.
Winter melon seeds are good for replenishing qi and relieving hunger. Long-term consumption can lighten the body and prevent aging.
Winter melon promotes urination, invigorates qi, promotes longevity, and relieves chest tightness. Obese individuals who wish to lose weight can consume it regularly.
2. Western medicine
1. Appetite suppressants: These medications primarily work by stimulating the hypothalamus's satiety center, controlling the appetite center, and then suppressing appetite through neural action, making it easier for obese individuals to accept dietary control. Therefore, using these medications in conjunction with dietary restriction yields better treatment results. These medications include: phenylbutazone, dextroamphetamine, benzylmethamphetamine, fluoroamphetamine, nicotinamide, chlorpheniramine, and fluorophenylpropionate, etc.
These medications have side effects that stimulate the central nervous system, such as insomnia, rapid heartbeat, high blood pressure, excessive thirst, dry mouth, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and constipation. Therefore, they should be used with caution. Among these medications, fluoroquinolone and fluoroquinolone esters are the most effective and have fewer side effects. However, they are contraindicated in patients with hyperthyroidism, glaucoma, or severe hypertension.
2. Biguanides: Including phenformin (Glucagon) and metformin. This class of drugs is very suitable for obese patients with diabetes. Common side effects include gastrointestinal reactions such as dryness and a metallic taste, loss of appetite, vomiting, and diarrhea. It is advisable to take them after meals. In addition, allergic reactions may also occur, such as rashes and erythema. They are contraindicated in patients with gastrointestinal diseases, impaired liver and kidney function, the elderly, and those with heart failure.
3. Thyroid hormones: These drugs can increase the body's energy expenditure, promote catabolism, and inhibit synthesis, thereby achieving weight loss. It is advisable to take them with high-protein and vitamin-rich foods. Side effects may include palpitations, irritability, insomnia, sweating, restlessness, and anger, similar to symptoms of hyperthyroidism. Use with caution in patients with coronary heart disease, hyperthyroidism, and neurasthenia.
4. Drugs that inhibit intestinal absorption: Neolexine inhibits absorption, causing fatty diarrhea. However, it has serious side effects (such as intestinal ulcers, renal dysfunction, vitamin K deficiency, etc.).
Improper weight loss can lead to the blockage of digestive enzymes. This can inhibit the breakdown of amylase and thus suppress absorption, but the effect is uncertain and is still in the experimental stage.
In recent years, research on the treatment of obesity with traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine has developed rapidly and shown its effectiveness. Taking medicine as an auxiliary means of weight loss is attracting the attention of the medical community.
III. Exercise for Weight Loss
Exercise is an effective way to prevent and treat obesity. Through exercise, calories can be burned and weight can be reduced. Exercise-based weight loss avoids the various discomforts caused by simply restricting food intake; on the contrary, it can improve physical strength and overall health. Exercise therapy is an easily accepted weight loss method.
When implementing exercise therapy, the type, intensity, and duration of exercise should be tailored to the individual's obesity status, presence of comorbidities, and physical fitness level. If possible, consult a doctor for guidance; avoid reckless actions. At the beginning, conduct medical examinations to assess exercise load (such as electrocardiogram during cycling, stair climbing test, respiratory and circulatory function assessment, metabolic rate, and muscle strength measurement). The exercise intensity range should also be determined comprehensively based on individual reproductive history and genetic factors.
Exercise intensity is often expressed as a percentage of maximum oxygen uptake, heart rate per minute, and metabolic rate. Self-monitoring heart rate is simple and easy: immediately after exercise, count your pulse (or listen to your heartbeat). Aim for 70-80% of your usual maximum heart rate. Excessive exercise will overload the heart; insufficient exercise will not achieve the desired effects of strengthening internal organs and burning fat.
Regarding the frequency of exercise, you should insist on exercising for a certain amount of time every day, and at least 3 to 4 days a week. Inconsistent exercise will not achieve the desired weight loss effect.
There are many types of exercise available, including various freehand gymnastics exercises, bodybuilding training using equipment, as well as walking, skipping rope, running, and swimming. The focus of these exercises is to reduce fat tissue in the trunk, abdomen, and buttocks, while simultaneously increasing muscle strength and improving overall fitness. Individuals with different levels of obesity can choose a specific form of exercise based on their individual circumstances. Furthermore, it should be understood that the weight loss effect of short-term, vigorous exercise is far less than that of low-intensity, long-duration exercise. Low-intensity, long-duration exercise is more effective for weight loss and has no harmful effects on internal organs and limbs.
Precautions regarding exercise: Those trying to lose weight should not rush the process. If choosing high-intensity exercise, it is essential to carefully consider individual health conditions (ideally under the guidance of a doctor) and scientifically and rationally determine the intensity and method of exercise. Progress should be gradual and consistent. If weight loss is not significant after a period of exercise, do not become discouraged. Exercise not only burns fat but also strengthens muscles, leading to muscle hypertrophy, which is highly beneficial to health. In this case, the effectiveness of the exercise should be assessed by measuring subcutaneous fat thickness, and the exercise should not be easily relaxed. Combining exercise with a diet can effectively and sustainably control weight and achieve the desired results.
IV. Surgical weight loss methods
Surgical treatment has garnered attention as a radical cure for severe obesity. Its fundamental purpose remains the same: restricting intake and increasing expenditure, and it needs to be closely integrated with other therapies.
Surgical treatment is an effective measure for patients with severe and refractory obesity, and is therefore widely used in Europe and the United States. However, improper use of this method can lead to dangers and other complications for patients. Therefore, the indications for surgery should be strictly controlled, the therapeutic significance should be clearly understood, and it should never be performed solely for cosmetic purposes.
1. Surgical indications for obesity
① Morbid obesity: Patients who are more than 200% over their standard weight or more than 45 kilograms over their standard weight.
② Patients with certain types of obesity who have not responded to conservative treatment for more than three years.
③ Obesity with complications: Obesity can cause complications (such as hypertension, heart disease, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, infertility, back pain, joint diseases, gallstones, Pick-Wick syndrome, etc.). Treatment of these complications requires radical cure of obesity.
In short, the decision to use surgical methods for weight loss should be made after a comprehensive weighing of the pros and cons.
2. Conventional surgical methods
① Gastrojejunostomy (Y-shaped anastomosis): This procedure has a good effect on weight loss and few complications. Before the 1980s, it was the standard surgical procedure for obesity.
②Vertical obstruction gastrectomy is a commonly used surgical procedure today.
③ Vertical gastrectomy with silicone rubber rings.
④ Gastric sac banding: This procedure is not the first choice due to its uncertain efficacy.
⑤ Bile and pancreatic juice diversion surgery: This is the only procedure that does not reduce stomach capacity, and its clinical efficacy is excellent.
Surgical treatments for obesity include liposuction (removing adipose tissue), temporomandibular joint fixation (fixing the jaw joint with sutures to prevent the intake of solid food), placing a balloon in the stomach, and acupuncture at the ear. These methods do not actually produce truly lasting weight loss and are therefore rarely chosen.