How Can Stomach Doctors Help With Obesity?
The word stomach generally refers to the concept of the eating system. Also, we believe that we have to see a stomach doctor whenever we have issues regarding food intake or digestion. Another side of the picture is stomach doctors can also help with obesity. Generally, we suppose that a nutritionist or any trainer can help.
The digestive system is termed as all organs that relate to food digestion. It starts from the mouth and ends at the anus. Moreover, the liver, gall bladder, pancreas, and bile ducts are part of the system. Gastroenterologists or stomach doctors have the expertise to deal with the issues of these organs. By managing organ function, they are great helpers in treating obesity in different ways.
Who Is The Stomach Doctor?
Gastroenterologists are physicians who treat the stomach and conditions related to the digestive system. Digestion is a process that starts in the mouth and continues through the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine. Furthermore, the liver, spleen, gall bladder, pancreas, and bile ducts contribute. We should visit stomach doctors when we encounter any stomach problems. Because the stomach functions primarily in food intake and digestion, we can consult them when facing obesity.
Methods To Help With Obesity
Stomach doctors may use a variety of methods to sort out obesity issues. They can be more versatile in this regard. They are highly upskilled with the body processes relevant to food requirements, absorption, and outcomes. If problems are at the initial level, they can be handled in the following ways.
- Nutritional Counseling: Counselling always acts as an effective remedy for all kinds of diseases. Gastroenterologists are the best people to provide dietary guidance according to individual needs and health conditions. It can help with weight management and improve overall health.
- Medication Management: Due to the increasing rate of obesity, specific medications also contribute to sorting out the problem. Such medicines are introduced that can reduce appetite and increase feelings of fullness. Furthermore, medication can also lessen fat absorption.
- Lifestyle Modification Support: In addition to dietary guidance, stomach doctors can assist by providing support and advice on lifestyle changes. These changes may include exercise programs and behaviour modification techniques. It increases metabolism and helps with weight loss.
- Monitoring and Follow-up Care: Monitoring and follow-ups keep the patient updated on progress. According to progress, gastroenterologists can reschedule medications or perform physical activities. Hence, it can be a great help with obesity.
- Collaboration with Other Specialists: Things can always go even better with collaborations. Stomach doctors can arrange a grouped working pattern to handle severe cases. Combined efforts with other healthcare providers such as dietitians, psychologists, and bariatric surgeons may result in fast and permanent recovery.
- Management of Obesity-Related Conditions: Controlled weight conditions become supportive in treating other obesity-related complications. It may include non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), joint pain, cardiovascular issues, and many more. Stomach doctors can prevent multiple disease attacks with their expertise.
- Education and Support: The education of patients and their families about the risks of being overweight adds up to all the rest of the efforts. Gastroenterologists can educate patients and guide them about precautions as well as suitable treatments. It motivates them to make healthy lifestyle choices.
Direct Medical Treatments to Control Obesity
After using all strategies like diet plan, physical exercise, and other supportive therapies, uncontrolled weight condition is alarming. Moreover, the coexistence of obesity-related diseases like diabetes or hypertension could be fatal. In this scenario, stomach specialists can be a great help for the evaluation and implementation of different medical treatments to control obesity. These procedures are recommended when nutritionists and exercise guides feel helpless in managing weight conditions. Hence, patients are left with these treatments as the ultimate choice. Stomach doctors play a vital role in guiding patients and then the practical performance of the following medical surgeries.
- Gastric Bypass Surgery: Gastric bypass surgery is the process of producing a small sac in the stomach. Its placement at the upper mouth of the stomach changes gastric pathways. The sac helps store food, which results in lessening the appetite. It is because stored food in the sac gives the patient a feeling of being fuller. Furthermore, its mechanism is designed to stop absorption in the small intestine, which helps control obesity.
- Gastric Sleeve Surgery: This is another type of stomach surgery in which most of the portion of the stomach is cut. It converts the stomach into the size of a banana to reduce its intake capacity. As a result, you cannot consume large quantities of food. Moreover, you feel full even after a smaller intake. Its other name is the sleeve gastrectomy.
- Gastric Balloon: Stomach space counts majorly for food intake, hunger, and hormone secretions. Stomach specialists focus on stomach size reduction in different ways. One method is to place a deflated balloon in the stomach. Moreover, physicians then fill it with saline solution. All this reduces the amount of space in the stomach, leading to a feeling of fullness with less food and, ultimately, weight control.
- Gastric Banding: They can also provide help with obesity by gastric banding. It involves the placement of a band around the upper part of the stomach. This band creates a small pouch to hold food. It is flexible and can adjust the amount of food that can pass through. Hence, controlling food flow prevents obesity.
- Intragastric Implant: Another way to adjust the size of the stomach is to introduce a device with the help of endoscopy. The consequences of device implantation include slow passage of food. As a result, the frequency of appetite is reduced, hence contributing to weight control.
Conclusion
In conclusion, talking about obesity treatment has numerous choices. Gastroenterologists are physicians capable of settling stomach and gastrointestinal issues. Undoubtedly, their primary skills are to treat digestive conditions, but they are also crucial in helping with obesity. Moreover, they can assist in improving weight conditions in different ways. Initial stages or mild conditions can be easily handled by patients’ education, nutritional counselling, and medication management. Despite all the efforts, if medical conditions become severe, then other medical treatments work. These treatments are gastric bypass surgery, sleeve gastrectomy, gastric banding, etc. All these treatments give effective results through the involvement of Gastrologists who contribute to the long-term solution.