LAUSR

Obesity is a chronic disease that is associated with increased metabolic and cardiovascular risk, excessive morbidity and mortality worldwide. The authors of the present consensus, clinicians representing medical specialties related to the treatment of obesity and its complications, reviewed a number of European and American guidelines mostly published in 2019-2021, and summarized the principles of obesity management to provide a practical guidance considering the impact that increased adiposity poses to health. The primary goal of obesity treatment from clinical perspective is to prevent or slow down the progression of diseases associated with obesity, reduce metabolic and cardiovascular risk and improve the quality of life by achieving adequate and stable weight reduction. However, obesity should not only be considered as a disease requiring treatment in an individual patient, but also as a civilization disease requiring preventive measures at the population level. Despite the evident benefits, obesity management within the health care system - whether through pharmacotherapy or bariatric surgery - is only a symptomatic treatment, with all its limitations, and will not ultimately solve the problem of obesity. The important message is that available treatment options fail to correct the true drivers of the obesity pandemic. To this end, new solutions and efforts to prevent obesity in the populations are needed.