According to the World Health Organization, 45-70 percent of the population in European countries is overweight. In Russia, the number of people suffering from overweight has reached about 60%. In the UK, the number of obese people has increased by 50% over the past ten years. In the USA, more than 300,000 people die every year from obesity and related diseases. Obesity has become a pandemic worldwide. Obesity is one of the main health threats of the 21st century. No other disease is so widespread and ultimately fatal. Therefore, global medical research is trying to find effective methods of weight control and stabilization.
Obesity is more common in women than in men. They are prone to weight gain due to hormonal changes, body composition, the amount of subcutaneous fat, and other factors. Seventy percent of women gain weight after childbirth and with age. Doctors have found that 75 percent of women aged 35-55 are overweight.
Of these, 70% are considered obese. In European countries, every fourth woman, and in the United States, every third woman, is obese. The terms “obesity” and “overweight” are not synonymous. Obesity is an excessive accumulation of adipose tissue in the body that poses a health risk.
The dangers of morbid obesity:
The life expectancy of such patients is reduced by an average of 12-15 years, and the mortality rate of patients aged 25 to 35 is 12 times higher than that of their peers with normal body weight.
In extreme forms of the disease, patients become severely disabled. They cannot leave their homes, take care of themselves, or perform simple hygiene. Currently, conservative treatment methods available worldwide (diets, reflexology, psychotherapy, etc.) are effective only for 5-10% of patients with morbid obesity. If the patient has achieved weight loss, it is even more difficult to maintain it.
Specialists help those who have not been able to achieve weight loss with conservative methods. There are three types of fat distribution: gynoid, android and intermediate. About 90% of women go on a diet at least once in their lives, and most never achieve the desired results. Women spend about 18 years of their lives fighting excess weight. Hypertension, diabetes, joint diseases, diseases of the spine and veins of the legs are associated with excess weight. There are also respiratory failure, coronary heart disease, atherosclerosis, cancer, gallstones and a number of other conditions. Increased load on the musculoskeletal system leads to poor posture, flat feet and reduced bone density, and increases the risk of fractures.
Taking on a strict diet requires a radical change in lifestyle. Low-calorie diets lead to weight loss, but the results are not long-lasting. If preventive measures are not taken after losing weight, in 96% of cases the initial weight is regained within 6-8 months.
If you repeatedly lose weight and then gain it, such sudden fluctuations in weight are detrimental to your health. Your main goal is to achieve and stabilize a normal weight.
Ideal weight is the weight that corresponds to your body and age. At this time, all your organs function normally, and your appearance becomes attractive again.
Alimentary-constitutional obesity:
This type of obesity is associated with malnutrition. Doctors call it the alimentary-constitutional type of overweight. The negative impact of excess weight on human health has been known since the time of Hippocrates. It is based on the aphorism “Sudden death is more common among obese people than among thin people.” Obesity in women is accompanied by a high incidence of anovulation, menstrual irregularities, and infertility due to impaired production of sex hormones.
Endometrial hyperplasia and polyposis, an increased risk of developing endometrial cancer of the cervix, ovaries, and breast. Simple obesity: a multifactorial disease, the most obvious causes of which are excess calorie intake, mainly from fats and oils. Carbohydrates, irregular eating patterns, lack of physical activity and raising children with a sweet tooth, says endoscopist Dr. Sh. Sekerbekov.
Intragastric balloon system
In 2020, Shokan Sekerbekov, head of the endoscopy department of the National Hospital, tested a new method of weight loss in St. Petersburg. Since then, about a hundred people have sought the doctor’s help. This method, which is now being implemented in Kazakhstan, is intended for non-surgical treatment of obesity. Its purpose is to reduce the patient’s weight when other conservative methods of weight loss have failed.
A gastric balloon is a soft, seamless silicone balloon filled with saline. Balloon placement is a minimally invasive procedure used to treat overweight and obesity. It is distinguished by its simplicity of implementation and the possibility of significant weight loss, says Shokan Altynkazyuly. The balloon takes up part of the stomach cavity, reducing its lumen. This reduces the amount of food consumed (100-150 ml). The evacuation of food from the stomach also slows down. The balloon stimulates the satiety receptors located in the upper part of the stomach, reducing appetite. The combination of these two mechanisms of action of the intragastric balloon leads to rapid weight loss. The whole process consists in inserting a balloon into the patient’s stomach, and then filling it with air or saline solution, depending on its design. The volume occupied by the balloon leads to weight loss, and after filling it acts as an artificial bezoar.
Silicone intragastric balloon
This is a relatively modern method of correcting excess body weight. The balloon was created using a more effective method of combating excess weight than the use of pharmaceutical drugs, as well as less harmful methods than bariatric procedures and operations, and the results of research by specialists. The use of an intragastric balloon is prescribed individually for each patient. No special preparation is required for the placement of the balloon. Before the operation, the patient, after consulting a specialist (surgeon, gastroenterologist, endoscopist), undergoes a general urine and blood test, biochemical blood test, Wasserman reaction, abdominal ultrasound, ECG, chest X-ray. EGD and general practitioner supervision are carried out. After receiving the results of the examination, the time for placing the balloon is set within a few days. The patient is forbidden to eat 6-12 hours before. Balloon placement is considered a gastric restriction procedure. It is an effective option for treating excess weight. This is because it does not require tissue cutting or postoperative recovery. The balloon is inserted into the stomach for an average of 30 minutes and removed within 15-20 minutes. This procedure can be repeated several times, but at least one month should be between injections. If the expected result from the first injection is achieved, the balloon is re-inserted into the stomach. Most often, the patient is examined for EGD before surgery, under local anesthesia or general anesthesia.
Postoperative period:
The patient can go home after regaining consciousness in the hospital ward and being examined by a doctor. However, he must be under medical supervision for a day. After the treatment, you cannot eat anything, but you can drink water from time to time (1-2 sips). After 4-5 hours, you can drink water normally. After 3 days, you can drink up to 2 liters (carbonated drinks are not allowed at all!) of liquid until a bowel movement occurs (spontaneously or after an enema). Later, you should drink sweet fruit and vegetable juices and skim milk. In this case, physical activity is very important. You can get up a few hours after the procedure. If you do not feel dizzy, you should walk and do breathing exercises such as blowing up balloons, says endoscopist Dr. Sh. Sekerbekov.
