Evaluation of the use of complementary and alternative medicine in adult obesity patients applying to healthy life center

Obesity is an important public health problem that is increasingly prevalent in the world. In addition to proven treatment to reduce weight, obesity patients are turning to complementary and alternative medicine to achieve rapid and less laborious weight loss. This study was conducted to evaluate the use of CAM in obesity patients who applied to Elazığ Şehit Mehmet Aygün Healthy Life Center Healthy Nutrition Counseling. This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted with the participation of 300 obesity patients admitted to the Healthy Life Center. A questionnaire prepared from the literature evaluating demographic, social and health information and the use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine was applied to the participants by face to face interview method. Data were recorded in the statistical package program and error controls, tables and statistical analyses were performed. 95% of the people included in the study were female and 5% were male, and the mean BMI was 35.56±4.45 kg/m2. While the rate of using CAM for obesity was 63.7%, the methods used were herbal treatment and acupuncture. The most frequently used herbal product is green tea (80.6%). 56.9% of those who used the TAT method used it on the recommendation of family, relative, neighbor, and 60.7% stated that they benefited from the method they used and 87.4% did not see any side effects. TAT use was found to be significantly lower in men, primary and six education levels, lower income groups and those who did not engage in physical activity (p<0.05). As a result, it has been observed that the use of TAT methods related to obesity is widespread in obesity patients, but people have low level of knowledge about this subject. Multidisciplinary studies should be performed to raise awareness of obese people about obesity treatment and CAM use.