Obesity continues to be one of the most pressing health issues for both adults and children in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the condition affects 78.6 million people, or about 34.9 percent of the country's entire population.
Obese or overweight people often suffer from a number of health problems such as stroke, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and even some forms of cancer, conditions that are considered to be leading causes of preventable death.
Following a well-balanced diet and engaging in regular exercise can help prevent taking on excess weight, but in cases of extreme obesity, undergoing a medical procedure such as bariatric surgery might already be needed to properly address the issue.
What Is Bariatric Surgery?
Bariatric surgery is a collective name given to weight-loss procedures that make surgical changes to the stomach and digestive system of individuals to limit the amount of food they eat and how many nutrients they absorb.
Health experts, however, warn that undergoing weight-loss surgeries come with significant risks and side effects, which make them not applicable to everyone. The long-term success of bariatric surgery also depends on the ability of patients to carry out permanent changes to their lifestyle.
How Do I Know If I Am Eligible For Bariatric Surgery?
Weight-loss surgeries are considered to be major and life-changing procedures. While such surgeries can help reduce major health risks related to obesity, they can cause individuals to develop other complications as well.
For an obese individual to be a candidate for bariatric surgery, certain medical guidelines must be met first.
1. Your efforts to lose weight through a balance diet and regular exercise have not been successful.
2. Your body mass index is 40 or higher (extreme obesity).
3. Your BMI is between 35 to 39.9 (obesity) and you suffer from severe weight-related health issues, such as sleep apnea, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.
Patients who have a BMI rating of 30 to 34 can still be considered eligible for weight-loss surgery if they experience severe health problems related to their weight.
Once these medical guidelines are met, a candidate will still have to undergo an extensive screening process before he or she can proceed with bariatric surgery.
Health care professionals, including doctors, dieticians, psychologists and surgeons, are responsible for evaluating which specific weight-loss procedure is appropriate for the patient. This is where experts determine whether the potential health benefits of the procedure outweigh the serious risks that might go along with it.
The screening also helps health professionals to find out if the patient is medically and psychologically fit to undergo bariatric surgery.
Some of the important points that experts review before the surgery include the patient's weight and nutrition history, medical condition, psychological status, motivation for having the procedure and age.
A scheduled bariatric surgery can be delayed or canceled by doctors if they deem that the patient is not medically or psychologically ready for the procedure, or if no changes to eating or exercise habits have been made.
The patient's weight gain during the screening process can also determine whether the surgery should proceed or not.
Types Of Weight-Loss Surgeries Available
There are four types of surgical procedures that doctors use to effect weight loss in obese patients. These are gastric bypass, adjustable gastric band, gastric sleeve and duodenal switch.
Gastric Bypass - Also known as Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB), involves having the surgeon create a "pouch" from a small portion of the patient's stomach. The procedure is designed to limit the carrying capacity of the stomach as food effectively bypasses the rest of the digestive organ and goes straight to the small intestine.
Adjustable Gastric Band - For this procedure, the surgeon places a small band around the top portion of the patient's stomach through a procedure called a laparoscope. This band carries a small balloon inside of it that can be used to tighten or loosen the device in order to control the amount of food the patient takes in.
Gastric Sleeve - This surgical method involves having most of the patient's stomach removed and leaving only a smaller, narrower portion of the organ, which would serve as the gastric sleeve. The procedure is also known to help curb the appetite-related hormone ghrelin, causing the patient to eat less.
Duodenal Switch - Much like the gastric sleeve procedure, surgery for the duodenal switch requires the removal of most of the patient's stomach to create a narrower organ that bypasses most of the small intestine. The result, however, prevents the body from absorbing enough vitamins and minerals.
Benefits Of Having Bariatric Surgery
People who undergo bariatric surgery often experience weight loss around 18 to 24 months following the procedure. Many patients begin to regain the weight they lost after the surgery, but some rarely regain it at all.
Those who suffer from obesity-related health problems typically experience a significant improvement in their conditions after receiving weight-loss surgery. Conditions such as type 2 diabetes have been observed to improve quickly, while others, such as high blood pressure, usually take a longer period to become better.
Risks Of Undergoing Bariatric Surgery
Similar to other invasive medical procedures, undergoing bariatric surgery also comes with a number of health risks. Some of the most common side effects of the procedure include vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, bloating, dizziness, increased gas and excessive sweating.
Patients may also develop more serious side effects that include infection, bleeding and leaks from areas that were stitched up. Some also experience blood clotting in their legs that could move to their lungs or heart.
In some cases, individuals who received weight loss surgery may develop long-term health problems as well depending on the type or procedure that was done.
Gastric bypass is often associated with a condition known as "dumping syndrome," in which food tends to move through the small intestine more quickly than normal. This can cause weakness, faintness, sweating, nausea or diarrhea usually after eating. Some patients may also find it more difficult to consume sweets without feeling very weak afterward.
Dumping syndrome can occur in up to 50 percent of patients who have undergone bariatric surgery. This can be avoided by replacing high-sugar foods with high-fiber ones.
