Rehabilitation interventions in the patient with obesity

Book excerpt: This book has a unique focus on physiotherapy techniques and training methods that are ideally suited for the obese patient. Despite its related comorbidities and disability, not to mention its pandemic proportions, the impact of obesity on individual capacities and rehabilitative outcomes is often neglected by physiotherapists and physical trainers alike. The number of disabled subjects who are also obese is now increasing worldwide, as is the rate of obese patients admitted to post-acute rehabilitation units. The effective rehabilitative treatment of these patients involves special multidisciplinary considerations. This book fills that gap, by gathering evidence-based chapters addressing not only the physiological limitations of obese subjects but also state-of-the-art, novel and specific treatment and training modalities suited for these patients. Though the content is primarily intended for rehabilitation practitioners (physiotherapists, nutritionists, dieticians, psychologists, PRM specialists), it will also benefit students and researchers engaged in this particular multidisciplinary field. The book’s ultimate goal is to increase professionals’ awareness of this multidisciplinary area, and to provide a pragmatic guidebook for those who want to engage in the rehabilitation of patients who are also obese.