Weight Loss and Surgery Options

Here’s a quick formula for losing weight: reduce calorie intake (diet) and increase activity (exercise.)

This plan of action may be easy to understand, but it’s also difficult to follow. Just ask the 36% of Americans who are obese, according to 2010 statistics. A recent study at Duke University projects that the number of obese Americans may reach 42% by 2030, largely due to sedentary lifestyles.

Throughout history, our ancestors were preoccupied with obtaining enough food, rather than worrying about what might happen if we entered a prolonged period of plenty. We might be tempted to think of our collective weight problem as a luxury, if not for the overwhelming evidence that it’s also unhealthy.

Dr. Michael Green at Doctor’s Hospital in Dallas says, “Look at the epidemic proportions of obesity and its negative effects on diabetes, hypertension, obstructive sleep apnea, reflux, joint pain and even fertility. There’s not one medical discipline that obesity does not influence.”

Obesity means having too much body fat, which is different from being overweight. To determine your current status, you can calculate your Body Mass Index (See BMI sidebar for instructions.) If your BMI is under 30, it indicates overweight, which may be due to muscle, bone, fat or water weight. If your BMI is over 30, it indicates obesity, and a BMI over 40 is considered dangerously obese.

Obesity occurs if you eat more calories than you use. Factors that might contribute include your genetic makeup, a high-fat diet and sedentary lifestyle. Because losing weight requires so much effort, some people become discouraged if they can’t reach their ideal goal. They shouldn’t stop trying, however, because losing even 5% to 10% of body weight can lessen the risk of developing weightrelated diseases.

Obesity also influences mortality rates. “Patients are dying sooner,” says Dr. Green. “We have found a ten to fifteen year difference in individuals that had a normal BMI range versus the more obese BMI range.” It can also be alarming to look at the breakdown between the ranges. Studies of non-smokers show that a BMI of 30–35 reduces life expectancy by two to fouryears, while it is severe obesity (BMIof40 or higher) that reduces life expectancy by 10to 15 years.

Because of the clear dangers indicated by obesity, physicians become concerned if a patient has tried unsuccessfully to lose weight with diet and exercise. Dr. Green explains, “People who have been battling with this disease for a period of time have struggled. They’ve tried multiple diet plans, and for the most part, those don’t work for the overwhelming number of people that we’re talking about. The population that we’re referencing may need to lose 60 to 100 plus pounds. They are the candidates for surgery.”

Bariatric surgery is an operation on the stomach and/or intestines that can help obese patients lose weight. Depending on the type of surgery, it may restrict food intake, or interrupt how food is digested, or a combination of both. Surgery could be an option for you if:

Efforts to lose weight with diet and exercise have been unsuccessful.