Understanding Weight Loss
Is obesity a problem?
Obesity has overtaken cigarette smoking as the most significant public health problem in Western Society. Obesity is related to many diseases such as type two diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnoea, fatty liver disease, polycystic ovaries, degenerative arthritis and is a significant risk factor for certain cancers and premature death. Obesity is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) greater than 30.
Is there a solution?
Lifestyle modification through diet and exercise is essential for any weight-loss strategy to work. Unfortunately diet and exercise alone rarely succeed in providing durable and significant weight-loss. At this point there is no effective medical therapy. Surgery has become more widely accepted, not because it is a “quick fix” or an “easy way out”, but because there is the highest level of evidence supporting its role in significantly reducing weight, improving health, and reducing the risk of premature death.
Who should consider surgery?
BMI>40 (morbid obesity)
BMI>35 with significant health problems related to weight
Age 18-65
Previous attempts at weight loss
Fit for surgery (no end-stage organ failure – heart, lung, liver)
Committed to lifestyle change
Realistic expectations
Full understanding of all procedures and their risks
Combined Medical and Surgical Weight Loss
Information coming soon.
Is Bariatric Surgery Minimally Invasive/Laparoscopic?
Most weight-loss surgery is now performed as keyhole surgery. Gastric Banding is the most commonly performed operation. It is the safest form of weight-loss surgery, and averages 50% of excess body-weight loss by 3 years after surgery. Gastric Bypass is the “gold standard” operation and averages 70% of excess body-weight loss by 2 years after surgery. Sleeve Gastrectomy is a newer technique with early results similar to gastric bypass. While there is good data for gastric banding and gastric bypass to beyond 10 years, there is no such evidence for sleeve gastrectomy at this point.
What are the risks of Bariatric Surgery?
Any form of surgery carries with it the risk of complications and also the chance of failure. Specific operations have differing types and rates of complications. Gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy involve joining and/or removing sections of stomach and these areas may leak causing significant problems. Complications generally require re-operative surgery which may be via keyhole surgery (laparoscopy) or through a large incision (laparotomy). They may require management in an Intensive Care Unit. The overall rate of complications is very low, but should be discussed with your surgeon. The risks of obesity far outweigh the risks of surgery and this has been demonstrated in numerous scientific trials.
NEWCASTLE OBESITY & WEIGHT LOSS CLINIC