Weight Loss Surgery: Is it the Answer for Over-weight Americans?

(Pepper, A., & Ruiz, S. 2007, October). Unfortunately, this epidemic is a problem in American, when there are more than 50% of us who are considered obese or over-weight. As states in this article,
“Being overweight is associated with poorer functional status (e.g., overweight is given as the main reason for functional limitations by 13 per cent of people with such limitations) and with considerable pain, worry, and restricted activity because of this condition …” (Stewart, A., L. & Brook, R., H., February 1983, Pg 171).
In fact, individuals who are overweight know that is unhealthy and can cause premature death. We are taking the weight loss to an extreme to the point that we are willing to risk our lives for a better one.

Every where you go, you see someone in the crowd with extra pounds on their frame. According to these authors Stewart and Brook from their article titled, Effects of Being Overweight: “From 20 to 50 percent of adults in the United States are overweight” (Stewart, A., L. & Brook, R., H., 1983, Pg 171. That is insane! That means, more Americans are eating more and burning less calories therefore, we are getting bigger. But what is the standard size for any person? According to the newsletter article titled, Keep Your Weight Normal to Live Longer (2006, November) points out that a normal body mass index or BMI should be between the rages of 18.5-24.9. Unfortunately, Americans are at most, are above 24.9 BMI. People who judge others because of their weight are uneducated and they are the one who creates the stigma on these people who have an illness, which they need help.

Over weight Americans are in a rush to lose weight no matter what and to become the “norm,” but luckily there is a solution to this problem: Weight-Loss-Surgery or Bariatric surgery. As stated in this article titled, F.Y.I. Bariatric Surgeries on the Rise (2006, February), “…shows a sevenfold increase in the procedure from 1996 to 2002.” That was six years ago, you can imagine how popular this bariatric surgeries have become today in 2009.  More, and more over weight people are looking for the solution of weight loss, and it’s found by the hands of general surgeons who wants to help this specific group of individuals.

In today civilization, being over weight is not an option…so they say. There are a lot of help out there in the medical field and of course in the health fitness field who wants to help. There are tools such as, gyms, herbals supplements, medications, or operations. There are some gyms that work with you to loss weight. So much help that some even offer free one-to-one training sessions to reach your weight goal. Also, a lot of gyms offer unlimited hours and even baby sitting services for the mothers who are trying to lose the baby fat. We can say that Americans have tried most or all kinds to tools to help the weight lose process easier and faster.

Other options to loss weight are herbal supplements. Most of theses herbal supplements do not need to be approved by the FDA to be sold in the market. Most of these herbals cause unknown risks to people like the “miracle pills” back in 1991. Some companies like GNC made their billions just selling these “magic pills” for weight loss solution. There was a particular scare in the health field. These herbal pills were called Fenfluramine and phentermine or fen-phen. According to the International Journal of Obesity of 1999, “Fenuramine is a serotonin-based appetite-suppressant drug which is widely used in combination with phentermine, commonly called fen-phen” (R, L., MK, S., DF, W., et., 1999). These pills did indeed help people lose a lot of weight but with a price: cardio vascular damages or death. There were a lot of people who were diagnosing with heart problems due to the “miracle or magic” pills. As stated in the International Journal of Obesity of 1999,

“Because the striking feature of the case reports received by FDA was the consistent involvement of left-sided cardiac valve lesions, FDA established its case dentition as the existence of either mild or greater aortic regurgitation (AR), or moderate or greater mitral regurgitation (MR), or both as determined by echocardiography. At the time when fenuramine and dexfenuramine were voluntarily withdrawn from the market, FDA had received 105 fen-phen case reports. Among them, 88 (84%) met FDA denition of valvulopathy” (R, L., MK, S., DF, W., et., 1999).

The pills were associated with valvular heart disease, which makes the heart function abnormal and swollen or even worst heart attack that may lead to death. These finding were shocking to our society. We were willing to kill to be thin and so-called “healthy” with the effect of damaged heart functioning. Luckily, the FDA took these products off the market and made it illegal to sell. Now, who ever have taken these pills must get an echocardiography or EKG to make sure the heart functions properly and without not sign of life threatening complications to any body.  That’s where the bariatric operation such as the Lap band comes in as the ideal help for the obese people because it’s safer and less invasive to the body.

The other tools are pre-packaged frozen foods. There are some companies that offer pre-packaged food that is low in fat and calorie counted for you. All you have to do is just pop the frozen food in the microwave and call it a day.  There are different brands and prices that these companies offer to make an individual to loss weight easier but of course with a price tag. The other day, I saw this commercial called Nutri- System. Nutri- System offers 28 days of so called, “delicious” foods. The foods are offered as breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks and desserts, supplied for less than a month. The company was offering a lot of specials such as save $ 50.00 here or $ 25.00 there. I was intrigue and excited to order this fantastic weight loss food, right? As soon as I picked up the phone to get the order, I was disappointed with the price tag. In a less than a month of food supplies, I would have to pay $375.00 plus shipping and handling. I was in shock and cancelled the order. That’s about $ 450.00 for less than a month of food supply? I do not spend that much in food in less than a month on myself, and I think a lot of Americans can agree with me. According to Benner, the author of Fortune from September 2008, “the company estimates that 2008 revenue will come in at $700 million to $720 million, down from 2007's $777 million.” Nutri-System Corporation made a lot of money in 2007 but is loosing money in 2008. As stated in the article written by Benner in 2008, “In February they warned that a slowing economy could squeeze the company's typical customers-middle-class Americans. After revenue fell 9% in the second quarter (typically a strong period for diet companies as people start thinking about the beach) and profits slid 25 %...” (Benner, 2008). I could imagine how much money these companies were making over the previous years. But of course people are think, and getting a better solution for weight loses. Unfortunately for these companies they are loosing money and quick.

Of course, everyone knows that having extra weight on their body can cause health problems. A lot of people know that cardio vascular disease, diabetes type 2, pulmonary diseases, and certain type of cancers and even over growth hair in some women are caused by having extra pound on our bodies. Just by having more that 35 pounds fat on our frame can lead to diabetes type 2. Being overweight can cause depression and low self esteem. As stated in this article by Catherine Ross from the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, states that,

“Is being overweight distressing? If it is, is the distress due to negative appraisals by others, to the stresses of trying to fit norms of thinness by dieting, or to the health consequences of being overweight? If being overweight is stigmatizing, negative evaluations by others may be internalized as high levels of depression” (1994, March).

Today’s culture such as the United States, being over weight is a shame and stigma. People who dislike or do not approve (such as the entertainment industry or the media) of the over weight population will be judge, discriminate, made fun of, and crush the self-esteem because those people like myself are not the “normal” size. All these negativity can cause depression to these individuals (Grilo, C., & Masheb, R., 2005, September). A lot of over weight Americans have to get treatment and re-think different about them, which is sad. These individuals who were bullied by others can see themselves as rejections over even worst hatred towards themselves.

Luckily, there is a solution for over weight Americans or even any individual who are ready to lose the extra pounds. There are different kinds of procedures of operations for weight loss such as gastric bypass and bilio-pancreatic. The one that sounds the safeness’ is the Lap-band surgery. According to De, S., Ahn, W., Lee, D., & Jones, D., from their article called, Novel Virtual Lap-band® Simulator Could Promote Patient Safety,

“With one out of five Americans obese, the obesity epidemic is responsible for 90,000 deaths per year [1]. First introduced in the 1990s, LAGB is an adjustable and reversible method for achieving significant weight loss in the severely obese” (BMI 30kg/m2) (2008, February).

The Lap band procedure might be one of the best and life saving medical procedure for the over weight population. This process is great and I may say perfect. All operations have risks involve, but this procedure is less dramatic like other very invasive surgical procedures. The Lap band is the just the thing tool of help of the obese Americans.

The picture below shows how the Lap-band looks:

Figure 1. (a) Lap-Band (2008, February).

The Lap-band cause less risks compared to the other bariatric operations would. As stated in the article by Spivak, H and other authors, et., in the, The Lap-Band system in the United States: one surgeon's experience with 271 patients article in February 29, 2004, “Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding is remarkable, for its safety characteristics, with very low incidences of serious morbidity and very rare mortality” (2004, February). That is great news! With this procedure you have less recovery days compared to other major operations, that saves you money and healing time. (2nd, Fares L. G., Reeder C., R., Bock, J., & Batezel V., 2008, December). Even though, the other operation such as gastric bypass, laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and bilio-pancreatic diversion can help lose 80% excess fat, it’s not as safe as Lap-band surgery. Over five years after the surgery the general weights lose is almost the same? The only difference is the speed of weight loss. I rather lose the weight slowing because it gives me a 50-50 chance of having less skin hanging than another person who loses weight fast. Fast is not good either because over time you can develop gallstone. The other great thing about Lap-band, once you lose the weight you desire you can remove it and have your stomach back to normal, but removing the device might not be a good thing. For example, if a woman has implant breast and one day decide to take the silicones out. The breast will go not be the same as before and be saggier. The similar idea can be applied to the removal of the Lap band device. Once a person removes the miracle device from their stomach, there is a 95% chance of gaining the weight back plus more. The best way to do this is to have the Lap band in your body for life which is the best life saving tool.

Weight loss surgery is not the solution for weight loss. Not everyone should have the Lap-band. As any other serious operation, not all the same procedures work for everyone. Before even thinking having the operation, you have to think that you are ready for the challenge and are you healthy enough or even sick enough to have the bariatric operation. The weight loss surgery might not be the cure of obesity but is the solution for right now that works safely like the Lap-Band.

References

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AOA Fact Sheets. (2002) Co-morbid Conditions of Obesity. American Obesity Association. Retrieved April 1, 2009, from http://obesity1.tempdomainname.com/subs/fastfacts/morbidobesity.shtml

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De, S., Ahn, W., Lee, D., & Jones, D. (2008, February). Novel virtual Lap-band® simulator could promote patient safety. Studies in Health Technology & Informatics, 132, 98-100. Retrieved April 1, 2009, from CINAHL Plus with Full Text database.

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Li, R., Serdula, M. K., Williamson, D. F., Bowman, B. A., Granham, D. J., et., (1999, September). Dose-effect of fenfluramine use on the severity of valvular heart disease among fen-phen patients with valvulopathy. International Journal Of Obesity And Related Metabolic Disorders: Journal Of The International Association For The Study Of Obesity, 23(9), 926-928. Retrieved April 7, 2009, from MEDLINE with Full Text database.

Pepper, A., & Ruiz, S. (2007, October). Acculturation's influence on antifat attitudes, body image and eating behaviors. Eating Disorders, 15(5), 427-447. Retrieved April 1, 2009, from CINAHL Plus with Full Text database.

Pettit, E. (2009, February). Treating morbid obesity: surgery is often a last resort, but can be a life-saving choice that improves self-esteem and overall quality of life. RN, 72(2), 30-35. Retrieved April 1, 2009, from CINAHL Plus with Full Text database.

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Spivak, H., Anwar, F., Burton, S., Guerrero, C., & Onn, A. (2004, February 29). The Lap-Band system in the United States: one surgeon's experience with 271 patients. Surgical Endoscopy, 18(2), 198-202. Retrieved April 1, 2009, from MEDLINE with Full Text database.

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