Fighting Obesity: Non-Pharmacological Interventions

TITLE
Fighting Obesity: Non-Pharmacological Interventions

AUTHORS
Higuera-Hernandez MF; Reyes-Cuapio E; Gutierrez-Mendoza M; Rocha NB; Veras AB; Budde H; Jesse J; Zaldivar-Rae J; Blanco-Centurion C; Machado S; Murillo-Rodriguez E.

SOURCE
Clinical Nutrition ESPEN. 25:50-55, 2018 06.

ABSTRACT
The abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that impairs health is one of the criteria that fulfills obesity. According to epidemiological data, obesity has become a worldwide public health problem that in turn would trigger additional pathologies such as cardiorespiratory dysfunctions, cancer, gastrointestinal disturbances, depression, sleep disorders, just to mention a few. Then, the search for a therapeutical intervention aimed to prevent and manage obesity has been the focus of study during the last years. As one can assume, the increased prevalence of obesity has translated to search of efficient pharmaceuticals designed to manage this health issue. However, to further complicate the scenario, scientific literature has described that obesity is the result of interaction between multiple events. Therefore, pharmacological approaches have faced a serious challenge developing an adequate treatment. Here, we argue that a wide range of non-pharmacological/invasive techniques can be used to manage obesity, such as diets, cognitive behavioral interventions, exercise and transcranial direct current stimulation. Combining these techniques may allow improving quality of life of obese patients.