'Türkiye is Europe's obesity champion'

In Türkiye, one in every 10 people has to spend their lives struggling with obesity and the health problems that come with it. Correct treatment planning and lifestyle changes are of great importance in order to get rid of this disease that reduces the quality and duration of life. Speaking at the Obesity Academy, organized to discuss new treatment methods for obesity and to emphasize the importance of multidisciplinary approaches, gastroenterology specialist Prof. Dr. Salih Boğa said, "Türkiye has become the obesity champion of Europe."

The Obesity Academy was organized at Memorial Bahçelievler Hospital to discuss new treatment methods for obesity and to emphasize the importance of multidisciplinary approaches. Gastroenterology Specialist Prof. Dr. Emre Yıldırım, Prof. Dr. Salih Boğa, and Prof. Dr. Yusuf Ziya Erzin made important presentations at the scientific meeting held by the Memorial Advanced Endoscopy Center. Prof. Dr. Abdullah Emre said, “The obese society in Europe is actually the Turks,” while Prof. Dr. Salih Boğa said, “Today, we can save our patients from obesity with both gastric balloons and endoscopic sleeve gastrectomy procedures.” The organization, which was held for the 5th time by the Advanced Endoscopy Unit and whose title this year was ‘Obesity Academy,’ was held with the participation of physicians from many countries from Northern Cyprus to Azerbaijan, Spain to the USA.

Gastroenterology Specialist Prof. Dr. Abdullah Emre Yıldırım said, “Obesity is increasing both in the world and in our country, it is very difficult to prevent this. Just as we are vaccinated to avoid getting sick, we need to take certain precautions starting from childhood to avoid becoming obese. 32 percent of people in Türkiye are obese. The fattest society in Europe is actually the Turks.” Prof. Dr. Yıldırım said, “Obesity is not a disease on its own, it is a syndrome. It does not consist of a single disease. It is not a cosmetic excess weight. The diseases related to cardiovascular health that it brings with it are a disease that causes death. The worst problem is that this is a pandemic and it is increasing. It is increasing so much that the most obese people in Europe are now in Türkiye and around 30 percent. 3 out of 10 people in our country are now obese. This shortens the life expectancy.”

PROF. DR. YILDIRIM: NO ONE CAN LOSE WEIGHT WITHOUT MOTIVATION

Gastroenterology Specialist Prof. Dr. Yıldırım, who touched on the importance of motivation in obesity treatment, said, “Obesity treatment is something that will happen with the patient’s will. It is not something that happens by telling the patient this from the outside. It is necessary to explain the seriousness and the patient’s condition and find common ground together. Of course, it is easy to say go on a diet and lose weight within this treatment, but the patient must definitely be motivated to adapt to this. A multidisciplinary approach is needed to understand the seriousness of this. In other words, a dietician, an endocrinologist, an internal medicine specialist or a gastroenterologist must be involved so that people can gain healthy weight. No one can lose weight without motivation.”

Providing recommendations for sustainable weight loss, gastroenterology specialist Prof. Dr. Yıldırım continued his words as follows:

“A chronic treatment is necessary for obesity. First of all, you need to change your lifestyle. If the calories you take are less than the calories you spend and you cannot burn them, this will accumulate as a fat depot. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to approach obesity together as a multidisciplinary team.” Stating that weight loss will not change with diet alone without physical activity, Prof. Dr. Yıldırım said, “Everyone can lose weight in the first month. The important thing is to make it sustainable. In order to make it sustainable, we need to put diet and exercise at the center of our lives. In other words, after losing weight, the body that they have trained should continue. If diet and exercise are not enough, other treatment methods should come along with it. If the diet is not followed and exercise is not done after surgery, there is a possibility of gaining weight. The cornerstone is to put diet and exercise forward.”

Gastroenterology specialist Prof. Dr. Salih Boğa also said, “For an obesity-free life, it is necessary to pay attention to the Mediterranean type of diet. The daily exercise amount should be planned in a way that will burn a certain amount of calories. In addition, it is necessary to start fighting obesity by noticing it early by going to regular doctor check-ups.”

Prof. Dr. Salih Boğa continued his words as follows:

“When it comes to obesity treatment, the priority is always diet and exercise. We should limit the patient’s daily calorie intake and include the calories they will burn in their daily program with exercise. The most important thing here is regular physician control. When it comes to obesity treatment, diet and exercise always come first. We have to limit the patient’s daily calorie intake and ensure that they burn calories with the exercise you will include in their daily program, and provide a calorie deficit. In addition, it is very important for patients to go to regular physician control. Because obesity has certain degrees. Realizing that obesity has started before it progresses and taking urgent precautions always puts us one step ahead in the fight against obesity. Endoscopy treatment methods are now actively used for patients who cannot lose weight with obesity and drug treatment.

'ENDOSCOPIC OBESITY TREATMENT PROVIDES PATIENTS WITH A HEALTHY LIFE'

Referring to the reasons for the increase in obesity, gastroenterology specialist Prof. Dr. Salih Boğa said, “We can say that it is both malnutrition and the decrease in physical activity in modern life. However, due to the society adopting a more sedentary lifestyle, the frequency of obesity is unfortunately increasing both in the world and in our country. What is worse, Turkey has become the obesity champion of Europe. The first step in the treatment of obesity is always diet and exercise. We have to reduce the patient's daily calorie intake and increase physical activity so that we can disrupt this balance in favor of losing weight. Today, we can save our patients from obesity without the need for surgery with both gastric balloons and endoscopic sleeve gastrectomy procedures. We discussed these treatment methods with our colleagues in this meeting with live cases. We tried to answer the question of what we can do better for our obese patients in Türkiye.”

DHA

Editor: News Center