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Summary.
Amongst the patients admitted to the medical department B,
Bispebjerg Hospital, during one year,
3005
in all, obesity was a
frequent affection, about 10 per cent of the patients weighing more
than 10 per cent above normal.
Before their admission, about
2/s
of these patients had been treated
with thyroid, in spite of the fact that only a very small number
presented signs of hypothyroidism. Only 2 per cent of the treated
patients were of opinion that the treatment had been of effect.
25
per cent of the other patients had not noticed any effect at all, and
the remaining
75
per cent had experienced various kinds of discom
fort, some of them even severe thyrotoxic symptoms.
It has been demonstrated that only seldom does the weight in
crease in connection with the climacteric. The instance of increased
weight is not more frequent than what may be explained as due
to changes in daily routine at this period of life, the hormonal changes
at this period not necessarily being the cause of the obesity.
Determinations of the excretion of gonadotrope hormone in pa
tients with obesity have not demonstrated changes indicating re
duced function of the endocrine sexual glands; thus there does not
seem to be any rational basis for treating obesity with sexual hor
mones.
The conclusion from the above results must be, that treatment
of obesity with hormones in most cases lacks a rational foundation,
most often it is without effect, and in many cases it directly causes
trouble.