Foreword to Part One
About two-thirds of adults in Australia have overweight or obesity, and this number is expected to increase. Obesity is regarded as a disease in its own right but it is also a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, some musculoskeletal conditions and even some cancers.
This is Part 1 of a three-part collection of articles on the management of overweight and obesity. Published articles from Medicine Today and its sister publication Endocrinology Today on the topic of overweight and obesity management have been collated and the articles updated by the authors. Part 1 of this collection focuses on practical lifestyle approaches – dietary change, alterations in physical activity and behaviour modification – to assist people in maintaining or losing weight. Lifestyle modification should be the central therapeutic approach in the management of obesity, and the ability to adhere in the long term to new lifestyle changes is the most important factor determining the success of any weight loss attempt. Most patients who have obesity are interested and motivated to lose weight and they want you, their healthcare professional, to help them.
Part 2 of the collection will focus on pharmacological and surgical approaches to obesity and Part 3 will focus on managing the complications of obesity.
Professor Caterson is the Boden Professor of Human Nutrition and Director of the Boden Collaboration, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW.
