Thursday, July 27, 2006

Understanding The Risks Of Obesity To You


According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity between adults has risen significantly in the U.S. over the last twenty years. In fact, statistics show that 30 percent of adults 20 years of age and older are overweight (body mass index [bmi] of 30 or higher). That translates to well over more than 60 million people. Although reducing the prevalence of obesity among adults is a national health objective, the health of the nation seems to be getting worse instead of better.




There are myriads of complications combined with obesity, including hormone abnormalities, hypertension, respiratory and pulmonary ailments, gallbladder disease, degenerative arthritis, cardiovascular disease, and certain types of cancer. Individuals suffering from obesity could also have psychological issues stemming from a low body image and recurrent diet failures. For many obese individuals, diet failure is extremely common and the odds of significant weight loss are low. Making sure that you have a success system that has worked for people just like you is critical.




Those who have tried and failed to lose weight using diet modification and exercise can find success using surgical methods such as bariatric weight loss surgery. The word "bariatric" comes from the Greek words "baros," meaning weight, and "iatrike," meaning treatment. There are two basic types of bariatric weight loss surgeries for obesity: Restriction procedures and malabsorption procedures otherwise known as gastric bypass surgery.




Restriction procedures lessen the size of the stomach through the use of a gastric band, staples, or both, and do not intervene with the normal digestion process. Gastric bypass surgery, on the other hand, reduces the size of the stomach and bypass duodenum, the 1st segment of the small intestine, and occasionally the whole of the jejunum (the mid-section of the intestines). Make sure you find a very knowledgeable Doctor that will spend the time to discuss this with you and why you would choose one over the other. What all the benefits are and all of the short-comings. This is a very serious life altering procedure for weight loss and you should never tolerate any physician that does not have the time to explain this all to you and make it very personal to you and your very own weight loss. There are many physicians out there, and if you are not completely comfortable with one, don't ever hesitate to keep searching and interviewing Doctors for the one that is just right for you.

Losing Weight With Gastric Bypass Surgery


Gastric bypass surgery involves stapling the stomach to make it smaller and reattaching the small intestine to go around a portion responsible for the majority of calorie and nutrient absorption. This procedure uses 'malabsorption' for weight loss.


The procedure is merely available to the morbidly obese (more than 100 pounds overweight) who have been obese for more than 5 years and shown a concentrated effort to lose their excess weight through non surgical methods such as diet and exercise.


Surgery in any form is dangerous and gastric bypass surgery can have some huge complications that you should know the risks of. Complications of gastric bypass surgery include infection, leaking of the stomach consequent from a failed staple, respiratory problems, and hernias. The most life-threatening of these is a gastrointestinal leak that prevails in 1 out of 20 cases. The resulting infection, if not caught promptly and treated accurately, can be fateful. A recent study by researchers at the University of Washington found that 1 in 50 people die within one month of having gastric bypass surgery, and that figure jumps nearly five-fold if the surgeon is inexperienced.


When considering this, remember that gastric bypass surgery patients are already in a very insalubrious state and their bodies are not in a condition to fight off serious infections that do sometimes occur even in routine surgery.


The risk of complications of this surgery must be weighed against the risks of living morbidly obese, which is a deadly state of health that will eventually result in severe disabilities and early death. When you get to the point of considering this surgery, the feeling of desperately needing help is understood. Do your due diligence and find the very best Doctor for you. Never, settle or become shy in seeking out an experienced and reputable physician for one of the most important and serious decisions of your life.