Weight Loss Surgery: Preventing the Health Risks

If you have been watching your weight go up and you are worried about the rising pounds, you may be wondering whether weight loss surgery really works. Is it possible to prevent future weight gain by putting yourself on a well-known weight loss surgical operation?



Today, weight loss surgeries are gradually gaining recognition when it comes to losing weight. Many health experts contend that people who are excessively overweight or has slower metabolism would normally require some surgical operations.



Surgery at Present



The greatest progress in the care of the surgical patient has taken place since the beginning of the present century. An increasing knowledge of disease and disorder as a result of research has permitted the development of many diagnostic aids. Some of these depend upon roentgenograms, laboratory procedures such as chemical, bacteriologic, and pathologic determinations, as well as monitoring devices and computer aids.



Hence, the result is that the diagnosis of disease and disorder is made with more exactness and certainty than was possible from the simple clinical examinations of previous days.



That is why people who wish to undergo weight loss surgery should no longer be afraid of the procedure because high clinical standards are now being implemented in every surgical operation.



The Concept of Weight Loss Surgery



Health experts contend that weight loss surgery is a major surgery. One of the most common reasons why people would like to lose weight is to enhance their physical attributes. However, it should not be the underlying motivation that they should undergo the process of weight loss surgery.



What people do not know is that weight loss surgery is especially generated to help obese people live longer, healthier, and better.



That is why it is important for an individual to meticulously analyze his or her situation, do some research about the process, and analyze if weight loss surgery is the ultimate choice for his or her physiological condition.



Moreover, it is important to gather further information about weight loss surgery by consulting an experienced and knowledgeable bariatric surgeon or even just an expert family physician who knows the ins and outs of weight loss surgery.



In addition, the patient should also consult the other health experts such as the psychiatrist and dietician with regards to some psychological advices on long-term goals after the operation.



Generally, patients who have undergone weight loss surgery are said to be successful if they were able to lose 50% or more of their extra body weight and will be able to maintain that condition for the next five years or so. However, the results of the operation may still vary depending on the clinical information of the patient and the skills of the bariatric surgeon.



Normally, the patient will be able to lose at least 30% to a maximum of 50% during the first six months after surgery; and within the year after the operation, the patient has the potential of losing weight up to a maximum of 77%.



Best of all, people who were able to loss weight through surgical operations can actually maintain a continuous weight loss of up to 50% to 60% in the next 10 to 14 years after surgery.



Factors to Consider



As with the other weight loss management programs, there are many factors to consider before the patient should decide to undergo weight loss surgery.



Consequently, the actual weight that will be lost is reliant on the weight before surgery, surgical procedure, patient s age, capability to exercise, total health condition of the patient, dogged determination to maintain the necessary follow-up nurture, and the enthusiasm to succeed with the help of their family, friends, and their colleagues.



If you have just put on a few extra pounds and want to avoid gaining more, these weight loss surgeries for better health may seem convincing. But, in addition to being convinced, you may also have to take some action to ensure that your weight does not creep upward.



Therefore, it can be concluded that losing weight is not just a question of deciding to be strong-willed and determined or upbeat and positive. Lifestyle changes are where it is at for long-term success with your weight especially after weight loss surgery.

Raw Food Weight Loss

Footage from the BBC News of Angela Stokes' remarkable weight loss transformation on raw foods. She lost around 160lbs (11.5 stone) with a raw lifestyle and shares this powerful message of healing with the world through her website.

Obesity a Problem in HIV Population

By ALICIA CHANG – 1 day ago

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Early in the AIDS epidemic, people infected with the virus often lost a dangerous amount of weight, at times looking gaunt and ghostly. Today, they are facing the opposite problem. Many who have HIV, but not full-blown AIDS, are struggling with obesity, which has overtaken "wasting syndrome" as the top concern.

AIDS researchers and advocacy groups say the waistlines of HIV patients are growing right along with the girths of uninfected Americans as the disease shifts from a death sentence to a chronic condition.

Exact numbers are hard to pin down. But new research suggests that nearly two-thirds of the HIV population may be overweight or obese, mirroring the U.S. population.

Doctors say there's a growing need to screen people with the AIDS virus for obesity, which raises the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol problems.

"We used to worry that they would lose weight and become wasted," said Dr. Nancy Crum-Cianflone of TriService AIDS Clinical Consortium in San Diego. "Maybe we should redirect our concerns to making sure they are maintaining a healthy, normal weight."

About a million people in the United States are living with HIV or AIDS, federal statistics show. At the height of the epidemic, many had wasting syndrome, the uncontrollable loss of 10 percent of body weight along with other symptoms like fever or diarrhea.

A turning point in the AIDS crisis came with advances in modern medicine. Powerful drugs that keep the virus at bay also boost the body's immune system. The result is that more HIV patients are living longer than their counterparts two decades ago, and may be prone to poor eating habits and lack of exercise.

Some experts offer psychological explanations. Since the hallmark of HIV has been weight loss, some patients may be piling on the pounds to avoid looking abnormally thin.

"It's very clear now that HIV is no longer a wasting disease in America," said Dr. John T. Brooks, an epidemiologist in AIDs prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Brooks did not participate in the study.

Crum-Cianflone became interested in the problem after noticing her patients were steadily getting fat and decided to study how common obesity was in the HIV population.

She and her colleagues pored through medical records of 663 patients with HIV at Navy hospitals in San Diego and Bethesda, Md. Researchers analyzed medication records, duration of HIV infection and whether patients had a history of diabetes or high blood pressure.

Sixty-three percent in the study were overweight or obese. Only 3 percent were underweight and none were considered to be "wasted." Among those with full-blown AIDS, about 30 percent were overweight or obese.

The numbers are particularly striking because most of those studied were in the military (some were military spouses) and tend to be in better shape than the rest of the population. Previous research had suggested about 40 percent of HIV patients are overweight.

Researchers did not find a connection between the AIDS drugs and excess weight. When patients gained weight, they tended to put on an average of 13 pounds over a decade. Those who became infected younger, those who had the virus for a longer time, or those who had high blood pressure were more likely to get fat.

Results were to be presented Thursday at an infectious disease meeting in San Diego.

"These folks are in more ways than not becoming like everyone else. If they're overeating, they're going to get fat," said Dr. Michael Saag, director of the AIDS Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, who had no role in the study.

"It would be very sad to survive HIV and die of something else that was preventable," said Brooks of the CDC.

At AIDS Project Los Angeles, pudgy HIV patients outnumber the very thin.

"Many of our clients don't even know what wasting is. They never knew that look," said Janelle L'Heureux, a nutritionist with the AIDS service group.

The problem is more evident in those who are poor, because they more often eat junk food and don't have money to join a gym. To help obese HIV patients, the group offers classes on how to read nutrition labels and cook healthy meals.

Jack Gebhardt, 56, of Los Angeles, said he started packing on the pounds after he quit smoking shortly before he was diagnosed with HIV 12 years ago. After working out three times a week, Gebhardt, who is 5-feet-8, went from 217 to 172 pounds.

A diabetic who is on disability, Gebhardt currently cannot afford a gym membership and has seen his weight creep back up to 182.

"I'd still like to lose a lot more weight," he said.

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