My Thoughts On Fat Loss Surgeries

According to current statistical surveys, United States obesity rates continue to maintain very high levels, with 11-15 million Americans estimated to be morbidly obese. According to a March report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity may become the leading cause of mortality in the United States by 2005, with a death toll of 500,000 per year. As a result, statistics on bariatric weight reduction operations like gastric banding, gastric bypass and variants of these stomach surgeries show that demand for weight loss surgery is soaring. In 2002, the number of bariatric procedures jumped 40%, to 80,000. In 2003 statistics from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) show that the number of surgeries exceeded 120,000 in 2003.

Dangers: After the surgery, patients are at risk of conventional post-surgical problems, like infection and internal bleeding. Thrombosis, or the formation of a blood clot inside a vein, is also an issue. The dangers of bariatric surgery also include hernias, ulcers, strictures, abscesses, breakage of stomach staples, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolus, nutritional deficiency bowel and digestive problems, and prolapse of the stomach and death.

My Thoughts: I know people personally and professionally who have had the aforementioned surgeries. I believe that it is not in your best interest to do something surgically that you can do non-surgically while you experience the benefits that come from your personal accomplishment. If you have a generational obesity issue that comes mainly from food choices and habits, are you going to have everyone hop on the table for their 21st birthday? How will you ever learn the benefits of treating your body like the awesome machine that it is? Many of the health professionals will say that the surgery offers a better quality of life for the patient than if they did not get it. BUT I feel that that would be the case IF surgery were the ONLY answer. IT IS NOT!!!! We live in a society that condones quitting and having a weak mindset. If you want to take the easy route and justify that there are no other alternatives and your health is failing so you have to do something now, then get a few friends and a "professional" to agree with you and just hop on the table. But if deep down you know that MANY others in similar situations have gotten angry at their situation and fueled that anger and passion into a strategy to put the pieces of their life back together in the healthiest way possible.......then TAKE ACTION NOW!