Prof. Dr Christian Wüster, head endocrinologist at the Hormone and Metabolism Centre in Mainz, treats patients suffering from obesity in his practice. Too fat, too sweet, too carbohydrate-heavy – anyone who likes to consume convenience products, drinks containing sugar and cannot resist sweets, as well as having too little exercise, runs the risk of developing obesity, i.e. excess weight. Doctors call a body mass index of over 30 obesity. Morbid obesity has become a phenomenon of consumer society. However, this condition can also be caused by a metabolic disorder. It is the task of the endocrinologist to diagnose this.
Prof Wüster recommends that patients who want to lose weight seek medical advice. For him, this includes a visit to an endocrinologist in the case of obesity. If the obesity is caused by a hormonal disorder or other factors, these patients need special support. The background: metabolic disorders can lead to obesity. In affected patients, obesity has less to do with an unhealthy lifestyle or undisciplined eating and more to do with an underactive thyroid gland or an overactive adrenal cortex, for example. A brain tumour can also trigger obesity.
If overweight patients want to lose weight, it is therefore essential to clarify whether a hormonal cause of too much body fat can be ruled out with appropriate therapy. Recently, professional associations have been recommending so-called bariatric operations, which are carried out in special obesity centers, as the first-choice treatment for a BMI > 40. This leads to weight loss of around 50 kg.
Excessive energy intake and insufficient energy consumption are not always the classic causes of obesity. Before considering dietary or even surgical measures to reduce weight, it is therefore essential to clarify whether the obesity has a hormonal cause. The endocrinologist Prof. Dr. med. Christian Wüster from the Hormone and Metabolism Center in Mainz knows: “If obesity is accompanied by a metabolic disease, a lot can be achieved with the right hormone therapy. In combination with a good diet and avoiding alcohol and fat, the course is set so that excess weight can be reduced sustainably.”
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