Surgery For Morbid Obesity Is Not Simply About Losing Weight

Obesity in the United States more than doubled in the last 30 years of the twentieth century and in the first few years of this century it has truly taken off with an estimated 15 million Americans now being classed as severely or morbidly obese. Although the United States leads the world in terms of obesity, the picture globally is far from good and the World Health Organization now considers obesity to be a global epidemic.

The number of deaths from obesity in the United States, which continues to rise annually, had reached a staggering 400,000 by the turn of the century and this places obesity only a short head behind smoking which remains the number one killer in America today.

As obesity continues to grow an increasing number of people are turning to surgery for morbid obesity as the cure for their weight problem.

Surgery is not however an easy option, even with the introduction of simpler surgical techniques such as laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding approved for use in the US by the FDA in June 2001.

It is nevertheless an effective solution and can not only produce dramatic weight loss in a relatively short space of time but can also allow patients to maintain their weight loss ââ‚¬ââ‚¬œ something that traditional diet and exercise simple does not achieve.

The problem however is that obesity is seen very much as a problem of weight and surgery is viewed very much as a form of radical but effective diet. Doctors insist that patients try a regime of diet and exercise before embarking on surgery, as do the insurance companies, and it is only when a normal diet program fails that they turn to the more drastic surgical diet. This is all well and good, but it seems to miss the central point at issue.

People do not die because they are overweight. They die because being overweight places a strain on the body and gives rise to a variety of conditions such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea and liver disease which can result in death.

Now if you are admitted to hospital with coronary heart disease and the doctors recommend heart surgery as your best or only option nobody, including your insurance company, is going to question the surgeon's recommendation.

But, if you are severely obese and go into hospital with hypertension which your doctor feels will almost certainly lead to coronary artery disease if not treated and recommends surgery to cure your severe obesity, and consequently relieve your hypertension, everybody is going to hold up there hands and say "hang on a minute all we need here is a regime of diet and exercise".

As a society we tend to view obesity as being something of a "personal problem" which most people could have avoided if they had taken better care of themselves. Weight loss surgery is also all too often viewed as a "cosmetic" procedure designed to make people look and feel better and to allow them to get back to leading the active and enjoyable lifestyle which they enjoyed before they put on so much weight.

It is all too easy to ignore the fact that we as a society have created many of the conditions which all too frequently lead to obesity and that those suffering from severe obesity face the very real possibility of death without the ability to get the help they need.

More articles about gastric bypass surgery:

Environmental Factors Fuelling The Growth Of The Gastric Bypass - A look at some of the environmental factors that are resulting in a growth in the demand for gastric bypass operations.

How Does The Sleeve Gastrectomy Work? - The vertical sleeve gastrectomy is a purely restrictive form of weight loss surgery which is particularly suited to extremely overweight patients or to patients whose existing medical condition prevents them from undergoing other forms of morbid obesity surgery.

Lap Band Surgery To Cure Morbid Obesity - This article looks at one particular form of restrictive weight loss surgery - lap band surgery - to cure morbid obesity.

NHS to double spend on obesity surgery - WalesOnline
27 Jul 2010 at 2:15am

NHS to double spend on obesity surgery
WalesOnline
These people are desperate to have surgery and I see them every week. ?Bariatric surgery doesn't exist properly in Wales. We have the highest morbidly obese ...
South Wales to have obesity surgery centreWalesOnline

all 2 news articles »
Losing weight to gain confidence - Times of India
28 Jul 2010 at 2:09pm

Losing weight to gain confidence
Times of India
Frantically fighting morbid obesity for years, Khan, who is from Lonar in Buldhana, arrived in Pune and underwent bariatric surgery in May at a city ...

and more »
Weight Loss Surgery: New Option for Diabetics? - Food Consumer
8 Jul 2010 at 1:02pm

Weight Loss Surgery: New Option for Diabetics?
Food Consumer
Some diabetics who were once morbidly obese have been able to go off of their medication after the surgery, a phenomenon some health professionals say may ...
Diabetics eye obesity surgery to tame blood sugarThe Associated Press
Obesity Surgery Help Diabetics Control Blood SugarUSANewsWeek...
Haptic Feedback Tools To Help With Laparoscopic Surgery Training - UberGizmo ...
27 Jul 2010 at 2:37am

UberGizmo (blog)
Haptic Feedback Tools To Help With Laparoscopic Surgery Training
UberGizmo (blog)
Laparoscopic gastric banding is a surgical treatment for morbid obesity, and apparently the most important factor in the success of this operation is the ...
Haptic feedback tools being developed for laparoscopic surgery trainingGizmag

all 2 news articl...
Concern over obesity in pregnancy - The Press Association
21 Jul 2010 at 11:45am

CBS News
Concern over obesity in pregnancy
The Press Association
The UCD centre for Human Reproduction at Dublin's Coombe Hospital, which compiled the research, said the incidence of morbid obesity was high, ...
Provision needed for obese pregnant womenIrish Times
15% of pregnant women are obeseIrish Health
Increased risks for overweight pregnant wome...