By treating obesity, we can protect the patient from the development of over 200 potential diseases and disorders

Prof. Paweł Bogdański said, among others:

• Obesity is a severe, chronic disease with a complex pathogenesis without a tendency to spontaneously resolve.
• The scale of obesity is now unprecedented in human history.
• Even before the pandemic, 68% of adult men and 53% of adult women in Poland were overweight, and every fourth adult was obese.
• I don't know of a second chronic condition with so many potential diseases and disorders that it can lead to - that's over 200 items.
• More and more people suffering from obesity are standing in increasingly long lines to various specialists, who, however, treat the complications of obesity, not by themselves. It threatens to collapse the healthcare system.
• Meanwhile, only 15% of Poles perceive obesity as a disease. We undertake numerous activities to raise public awareness in this regard.
• US research has shown that $ 1 spent on obesity prevention pays back $ 5-6.
• The Polish Obesity Treatment Society has developed very practical standards for dealing with obese patients, which will soon be disseminated.
• According to OECD data, obesity alone will reduce the average life expectancy in Poland by nearly 4 years by 2050.
• Many obese patients, despite being fully involved in non-pharmacological management, have little effect.
• Comprehensive non-pharmacological therapy leads to an average weight loss of 3-5% of the initial body weight. It is definitely not enough to achieve the effects that translate into a real reduction in the risk of complications.
• We doctors are obliged to use all available methods that improve the effectiveness of treatment.
• The standards clearly define what criteria a drug approved for the treatment of obesity must meet.
• Currently, we have four (available - three) drugs for the treatment of obesity registered in Poland. Among them, the GLP-1 analogue liraglutide at a dose of 3 mg, which is a real breakthrough in the treatment of obesity.
• In Poland, only 1% of people with indications for pharmacological obesity treatment are treated in this way.
• Thanks to modern pharmacotherapy of obesity, if it becomes more available, we will be able to have a real impact on slowing down the acceleration of the pandemics that we observe today (the pandemic of diabetes, hypertension, cancer).
• By effectively treating obesity, we are able to protect the patient from the development of over 200 potential diseases and disorders. There is no better example of a truly causal treatment.
• The stigmatization of obese patients is, unfortunately, a common phenomenon. It is mainly due to high ignorance.
• I am sorry to say that some doctors also do not understand the complex pathogenesis of obesity and use stigmatizing terms in their conversations with the patient, eg "you need a little willpower".
• Let us not judge obese patients, let us not find fault in their behavior. Let's try to help them.
• We have modern standards, we have modern therapies, let's reach for them, let's use the available tools.