Despite the growing body of evidence, many patients still face challenges such as poor treatment adherence and difficulty maintaining weight loss.
Professor Andreas Liebl states:Indeed, I have encountered many patients who struggle greatly with weight loss even when we provide full support.In my opinion, one of the keys to success is to build an integrated multidisciplinary expert team.This team should include not only diabetologists and endocrinologists, but also specialists in overweight and obesity, dietitians, diabetes specialist nurses, and — most importantly — psychologists.This team can provide comprehensive support for patients, addressing various issues at different stages of the disease.
In my view, the role of psychologists is the most critical, as they help patients achieve long-term behavioral changes, which have a major impact on treatment outcomes.In addition, we have many modern integrated and automated tools that help us precisely identify patient needs while providing real-time biological feedback.Through relevant applications, patients can track their weight changes, whether their physical activity meets targets, their blood glucose levels, and achieve integrated blood glucose monitoring — all highly practical.
Finally, one crucial yet difficult-to-achieve factor is maintaining close contact with patients.We must follow up with patients regularly to avoid losing communication.The more frequently team members (such as dietitians or diabetes specialist nurses) interact with patients, the better the treatment outcomes.Therefore, close collaboration and regular follow-up are extremely important factors for success.