Jan 13 2012
Obesity and Weight Loss Surgery
Life can be so convenient these days, thanks to modern technologies. For example, you can sit down in front of your computer and shop, pay your bills, work, and socialize your friends. No need to get on your feet and get busy. That is probably one of the primary reasons why a lot of people (me include) become overweight or obese these days.
*photo was taken from the web
Basically, you will be diagnosed as overweight if your Body Mass Index (BMI) reaches 30. If your BMI hits 40, then you are then classified as an obese. When you are overweight or obese, you have a high risk of getting diseases and serious health problems like heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure.
Why most people become obese…
I have to say that it is very easy to become overweight or obese nowadays. With the existence of the computer, the internet, and other advanced technologies, people can easily adapt a sedentary lifestyle. We don’t have to burn a lot of calories to perform our day-to-day tasks and as such, we tend to be inactive. Inactivity results to calorie build up and that will lead to obesity.
People can also become overweight because of their unhealthy eating habits. Most of us skip breakfast and overeat at night. A lot of people also opt for high calorie take outs and beverages – in huge servings. Such bad eating practices lead to weight gain.
The lack of sleep can also cause an increase in appetite and make us crave for foods that are rich in carbohydrates and calories. As such, we also gain weight from that.
Aside from these however, one can become overweight or obese because of pregnancy, medical problems, and the use of certain medications (antidepressants, anti-seizure medications, diabetes medications, antipsychotic medications, steroids and beta blockers).
Treating Obesity
Fortunately, there are many things that we can do to treat obesity. The most basic ones include dietary changes, exercise and activities, and behavior changes. If such things don’t work, one can also consult their physicians for prescription weight-loss medications such as Orlistat (Xenical) and Phentermine.
If these do not work, one can also opt for weight loss surgeries. There is gastric bypass surgery where the surgeon creates a small pouch at the top of your stomach so some food and liquid will bypass the stomach and go straight to the intestine. There is also the lap band surgery or the Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB). During this surgery, the surgeon will create a tiny channel (using an inflatable band) between your stomach (creating two pouches). This type of weight loss surgery is quite in demand these days because it is less invasive and it causes slow and steady weight loss.
Other procedures which are still being evaluated and studied are the gastric sleeve surgery and the Biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch. In both procedures, part of the stomach will be surgically removed.
* This post is part of a campaign via Bucks2blog but all info presented above are based on research (mayoclinic and webmd) plus my own opinion.
