Rehabilitation interventions in the patient with obesity (eBook)

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.

Paolo Capodaglio received his M.D. degree from the University of Pavia, Italy, in 1988 and his specialization in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PMR) from the same University in 1991. After graduating, he worked as a PMR specialist at different hospitals of the Fondazione Maugeri Institute. He then spent time working abroad (1992 University of Dusseldorf, Germany; 1995-1996 National Institute of Occupational Health, Copenhagen, Denmark), in the course of which he began collaborations with several research groups in Europe and the US. He has also taught at the Medical School of the University of Brescia, Italy. At present, he is Director of the PMR Unit (80 inpatients) and the Laboratory for Research in Biomechanics and Rehabilitation at the Istituto Auxologico Italiano IRCCS in Verbania-Piancavallo, Italy. He has devoted much of his research to functional evaluation in ageing and pathological conditions (spinal cord injuries, musculoskeletal disorders, obesity and metabolic conditions), has published more than 200 papers in peer-reviewed journals and 6 books, and serves as reviewer for several indexed journals.