Health Professionals Involved in the Treatment of Obesity

1. Your Family Doctor or GP - Your family doctor will have a central role in the assessment of your ongoing health, health checks, tests and will be responsible and accountable to you in regards to how your progress is going and will tell you if your body is reacting well or bad to exercise and diet changes. Doctors can also refer you to any other specialists that you need to see in order to have anything urgently examined, and can also prescribe any drugs that need to be taken. Doctors play a vital role in the ongoing monitoring of an individual's health.

2. Dietitian - During obesity it is important for an individual to regulate calorie intake to lose weight. The dietitian will be responsible for the development of a healthy meal plan so that the patient or individual can make dietary changes to better their health. Dietitians however go beyond the scope of writing a simple meal plan, they can also teach you how to read food labels, make recipes healthier and how to order when eating out or at a restaurant. The dietitian will be responsible for and will attempt to improve the individual's health through healthy food and diet education.

3. Podiatrist - During an episode of obesity, an individual grows to unnatural levels of largeness, fat, large, largeness. This increased body weight not only puts more pressure on the rest of your body but more importantly puts pressure on the foundations of your body - your legs and feet. A podiatrist specialises in foot treatment, they will monitor your feet and treat various symptoms in your feet such as a loss of sensation and restricted blood flow to your feet. Certain pain on the knees and lower back can also be triggered by feet that are out of alignment. A podiatrist will monitor these changes in the feet and can ensure that they are looked after in order to stop small problems that can be stopped at the feet spreading to the rest of the body.

4. Pharmacist - A pharmacist can offer advise on medication that can or should be taken to the obese individual. They can explain how to gain maximum effectiveness from prescribed medication and can also explain any potential risks or side effects of medication. A pharmacist will be responsible for medication advise and can advise the patient of the drugs they should or can be taking to better their health.

5. A Psychologist, Psychiatrist or Social Worker - In the case of obesity, depression can quickly be onset as a result of reduced self-esteem, self confidence and feelings of low self-worth. A psychologist, psychiatrist or social worker will be responsible for the mental wellbeing of the individual, and will treat the patient by listening to them and helping them get over mental hurdles that they are having by employing problem solving techniques. A healthy psych will allow an obese person to more easily deal with their present and move on with the future.

6. Physiotherapist - Physiotherapists use manual therapy to treat musco-skeletal injuries or disease such as back pain and arthritis. An obese individual is likely to encounter a lot of pain as a result of their body weight and amount of pressure exerted on the internal structure, if this pain is not already being felt (particularly on the posterior chain). A physiotherapist is responsible for the monitoring and therapy of an individual's muscular pain, and to ensure that small problems do not result in musco-skeletal disorders.

7. Personal Trainer - A personal trainer can be prescribed to aid with exercise regimes. The personal trainer will be responsible for exercise workouts that work with the individual's current state of fitness, and aims to improve that fitness by increasing cardiovascular or muscular ability to lose weight and body fat. The personal trainer is also responsible in the collective treatment by showing the individual exercises that are tailored to their individual needs or wants and aiding with any fitness or physical goals.