Obesity Diagnosis
Collecting all this information will aid your doctor and yourself to choose the kind of treatment that will be best for you. The obesity diagnosis depends on the medical history and physical examination of the patient. Of specific relevance will be the BMI calculation to make sure that it is above 30 kg/m2, in a way to find the level of obesity. This information aids to build the treatment goals and finding if there are any risk factors or health conditions. For the diagnosis of obesity, your general physician will normally do a physical examination and suggest some tests. These tests and examinations generally consist of: (4)
A general physical examination: this consists of measuring the height, examining vital symptoms, such as blood pressure, heart rate, and temperature; listening to your lungs and heart, and checking your abdomen.
Taking health history: your physician might examine your weight loss efforts, weight history, exercise habits, eating habits, physical activity, and appetite control, and other conditions that you had, stress levels, medications, and other problems relating to your health. Your doctor might also check your family history of health to check if you might be at risk of having certain conditions.
Calculating your BMI: the doctor might examine your body mass index (BMI). A BMI that is 30 or above is considered obesity. Numbers above 30 raise health risks much more. Your BMI must be examined almost once a year so it might aid in finding your health risks overall and what treatments might be suitable.
Measuring waist circumference: the storage of fat around the waist, sometimes known as abdominal fat or visceral fat that might raise the risk of diabetes and heart disease. Women having a waist circumference of higher than 35 inches (89 centimeters) and men having a waist circumference of above 40 inches (102 centimeters) might have increased health risks than other people have with small waist measurements. Such as BMI measurement, waist circumference must be examined almost once a year.
Examining other health-related problems: if you are well-known for health conditions, your doctor might evaluate them. Your doctor will also examine for other possible health conditions such as high cholesterol, liver problems, high blood pressure, diabetes, and an underactive thyroid.
Clinical history: it is a specific relevance to get information on age at onset, body weight, weight fluctuations, diet patterns, finding reasons for weight gain, previous treatments, medications that might have an effect on the change in physical activity level and weight. The family history also aids to find the predisposition to some diseases such as arterial hypertension and type 2 diabetes. The history also aids us to find other metabolic diseases that associate with obesity and find the level of controlling other well-known health conditions. At last, the background of alcohol consumption and smoking must also be calculated.
Imaging tests and body analysis: they rely on the symptoms the patient might have at that time, also the risk factors for forming other health problems. The blood test contains measuring cholesterol and fasting glucose level, also thyroid function, kidney, and live function.