Ponderal
Cosmetic Surgery - Plastic Surgery - Aesthetic Medicine - Reconstructive Surgery
Ponderal is an adjective used to characterize everything relating to weight.
According to data from the WHO (World Health Organization), there are
in the region of over one billion people worldwide suffering from
excess weight or ponderal excess and this number continues to increase.
The origins of excess weight and obesity pose a care and treatment
problem. Medical management of excess weight is difficult because
several aspects must be taken into account: genetic determinism, the
behavioural component and the sociocultural dimension. Current
knowledge of the regulation of body fat has improved allowing
therapeutic aims to be better defined. . Obesity results from a complex
mixture of biological, psychological, behavioural, environmental and
economic factors that are intertwined to give a heterogeneous clinical
entity.
The body mass index allows for a quick diagnosis of obesity before any
more sophisticated methods such as measuring body density, CT scans,
etc, which are not routinely available. are used. .
The body mass index is just an index. It highlights an increase in
risk factors with excessive body fat, and an increasing risk of
mortality as the body mass index increases.
This problem of excess weight is not only a problem for rich
countries, but it affects the entire world’s population with, in
particular, changing diets richer in fat, salt and sugar linked to
decreased physical activity.
Excess weight and obesity are dangerous because of the chronic
diseases linked to them. The fight against excess weight is linked to
the consumption of healthy foods, the practice of regular physical
activity and giving up smoking.
To treat obesity, we need a comprehensive approach at once
psychological, somatic and social. The treatment of obesity is
difficult, but significant results are obtained when the target weight
is associated with improved quality of life and the treatment of
complications.