Over half of American men over the age of 40 are overweight or obese. This is a terrible symptom of a society that has become accustomed to quick solutions to problems, and has trouble committing to a course of action that will be a little uncomfortable and require a little more effort. People who start a weight loss program are notorious for quitting before the recommended term of the program is up if they haven't seen the desired results. Living in a capitalist society, if there is demand eventually someone will figure out how to supply it and the 'quick and easy' solution to obesity seems to be a weight loss surgery diet.
Weight loss surgery. What is that? Doctors will refer to it as Bariatric Surgery. It is designed to offer quick weight loss to people who have not got the results they were after with weight loss products or any quick weight loss diet plan they have tried. It is one step up from a weight loss diet pill which and is often offered by a weight loss clinic or private hospital. A bariatric operation is a major gastrointestinal procedure designed to alter the capacity or anatomy of the digestive system. In other words it's pretty seriously messing with your insides in order to limit the amount of food you can process.
Is this a smart thing to do? Put simply - no it isn't. Even the American Society for Bariatric Surgery states it is a drastic step, it is not an easy weight loss cure and it will involve all the pain and discomfort normally associated with a major operation. It is a final option for people whose diet and weight loss attempts have been failures in the past. Recipients of the operation may lose as much as 200 pounds after the operation, but ironically they will still be required to follow a special diet after the procedure is complete. In fact post operation weight loss surgery diet restrictions may be the most severe diet that the patient has ever tried to undertake, but this time no special diet products are needed and the patient has an advantage they have not had before even in the fastest weight loss diet, this time their body will stop them eating sooner. because the size of the stomach has been reduced from roughly the size of a melon to about the size of an egg, the person who has undergone the weight loss surgeries will have a diminished appetite. Their body will tell them they are full sooner, so they will eat less.
However after weight loss surgery diet restrictions are quite harsh. it is not so much a diet program as a recovery program. To begin with food will need to be crushed and specially prepared to pass through the system. Normally the patient will only be able to manage three or four tablespoons of food before being sated for some time after the surgery. They are also expected to follow an exercise procedure to assist the recover from surgery and the general health.
The important question is whether the dangers of this type of surgery actually outweigh the dangers of obesity. The answer from professionals is an overwhelming yes. Obesity is a life threatening situation, particularly when we start talking about the most advanced stage (end stage Obesity Syndrome where the Body mass Index is 60+). Studies show that roughly 4 in 10 Bariatric patients suffer complications within 6 months of the operation. Of those 20% have to be re-hospitalized. There are recorded instances of fatalities as a result of the operation. While all that is bad, it pales beside the health problems caused by severe obesity.
