Volume 181 - Issue 8
Management of obesity
Authors: Ray C McHenry, Richard W Gilhome and Chris Hensman
Med J Aust 2004; 181 (8): 461-462. || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2004.tb06389.x
Published online: 18 October 2004
Published online: 18 October 2004
Ray C McHenry,* Richard W Gilhome,* Chris Hensman*
* General Surgeon, Eastern Surgical, Suite 7529, Police Road, Mulgrave, VIC 3170.
To the Editor: We take issue with the recommendations on treatment of morbid obesity in the otherwise excellent article on obesity management by Proietto and Baur.1
Like most non-surgical clinicians involved in the management of obesity, they fail to differentiate between the treatment of obesity (body mass index [BMI], 30–35 kg/m2) and morbid obesity (BMI > 35 kg/m2). The literature is crystal clear — non-surgical treatments are unsuccessful in achieving and maintaining weight loss in morbid obesity.2,3 We are unaware of any branch of medicine, other than morbid obesity management, where respected clinicians routinely recommend treatments (drugs, diet and lifestyle modification) which have been proven not to be effective.
We challenge all clinicians to accept what the evidence clearly shows, that:
References
- Proietto J, Baur AL. Management of obesity. Med J Aust 2004; 180: 474-480. <eMJA full text>
- Perri MG, Fuller PR. Success and failure in the treatment of obesity: where do we go from here? Med Exerc Nutr Health 1995; 4: 255-272. CHDGFGJF
- National Task Force on the Prevention and Treatment of Obesity, National Institutes of Health. Very low-calorie diets. JAMA 1993; 270: 967-974. CHDCJDFG
- Chapman A, Game P, O’Brien P, et al. Systematic review of laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding for the treatment of obesity: update and re-appraisal. Australian Safety and Efficacy Register of New Interventional Procedures - Surgical (ASERNIP-S) report no. 31. 2nd ed. Adelaide: ASERNIP-S, The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, 2002. Available at: www.surgeons.org/asernip-s/systematic_review/LAGBreviewUp0602.pdf (accessed Aug 2004).