2 minute read
Dr Jason Free Bariatric Surgeon
Weight Hate
FROM THE REAMS OF STUDIES CONDUCTED AROUND THE WORLD INTO OBESITY AND WEIGHT-LOSS, IT’S CLEAR THAT BODY IMAGE ISSUES ARE BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE WEIGHT MANAGEMENT. NEGATIVE BODY IMAGE IS ASSOCIATED WITH YO-YO DIETING PRACTICES, OVEREATING, AVOIDING EXERCISE, WEIGH REGAIN FOLLOWING WEIGHT-LOSS AND FREQUENTLY, ANXIETY OR DEPRESSION.
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Ask anyone who’s had an operation for weight-loss and almost always you’ll get the same response: “I feel so much better about life! I wish I’d done it years earlier. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done!”
The majority of people who undergo weight-loss have generally been considering it for years and were constantly worried and anxious about their weight.
This ongoing worry can have huge impacts on mental well-being and affect a person’s interaction with the community. Many are afraid to leave home in fear of others' perception of their appearance.
Patients and medical practitioners are now fully aware of the enormous medical benefits of weight-loss surgery, including
I’m sick of every day waking up feeling disappointed with myself
Quote from Tash, preparing for weight-loss surgery at Surgery Gold Coast by Dr Jason Free.
complete resolution or significant improvements in medical problems such as Diabetes, Hypertension, Hypercholesterolaemia, Obstructive Sleep Apnoea, and Osteo-arthritic disorders.
The majority of patients requesting surgery however are motivated knowing there are massive non-medical benefits such as improved confidence, mobility and energy.
Alleviation of depression and anxiety are not the only benefits. A recent published review of the literature suggests that weight-loss surgery improves self-esteem, self-confidence, and expressiveness. image and weight-loss satisfaction after surgery. Various studies have looked at improvement in self-esteem with results ranging from 89 to 96 percent of patients demonstrating an improved self-esteem.
Even patients who had not lost as much weight as anticipated had a dramatic improvement in self-esteem.
Mobility too improves. Many obese people find it difficult to participate in activities they might otherwise enjoy and have limitations in movement and decreased mobility. Evidence shows weight-loss surgery decreases the proportion of people with a “physical handicap” due to their obesity from 50 percent down to 6 percent.
Energy and vitality are a welcome result of weight-loss. The lack of motivation and tiredness many obese patients feel is dramatically improved following surgery. On quality of life scoring an improvement in this regard demonstrated a vitality score doubled from 35 to 67.
Good news for libido, as a study of patients following sleeve gastrectomy revealed 85 percent noticed having an improvement in their sex life.
Surgical weight-loss has been shown to decrease the mockeries and discrimination of others towards obese patients. “Public Distress” and “Social Functioning” scores on quality-of-life questionnaires showed significant improvements.
For the first time in my life I am not stressed about my weight, I feel so liberated!
Quote from Cate, following sleeve gastrectomy performed at Surgery Gold Coast by Dr Jason Free.
