Management of obesity

Obesity is now recognised as the most prevalent metabolic disease worldwide. Overweight and obesity are responsible for about 80% of cases of type 2 diabetes, 35% of ischaemic heart disease and 55% of hypertensive disease among adults in Europe. In Estonia overweight and obesity are at present also one of the biggest current health problems among adults with a prevalence of 49.6%.  There are effective methods available for treatment of obesity. Basic treatment consists in a change of lifestyle and dietary habits by counselling and guidance. The target should be moderate, a 5-10% reduction in weight. Fur thermore, in some patients pharmacological and surgical treatment should be considered as part of the obesity management strategy.