Konservative Therapie der Adipositas

Background: Obesity as a chronic disease leads to several adverse metabolic comorbidities like type 2 diabetes mellitus and its prevalence has increased continuously over the last decades. Objectives: The aim of this work is to present an overview of the possibilities and limitations of non-surgical therapy for patients with obesity. Furthermore, it explains the development of obesity as well as the association between sleep-related breathing disorders and obesity. Materials and methods: Literature and guidelines focusing on non-surgical therapy of obesity, i. e. diet, physical activity and behavior, were screened. Furthermore, data on several experimental studies regarding the weight-lowering effects of drugs were included. Results and discussion: Due to the complexity of the pathogeneses of obesity, the therapy should base on a multifactorial approach, consisting of nutritional and physical activity counselling and behavioral therapy. If this “basic” program is not effective the use of weight-lowering drugs could be considered.