Advantages and disadvantages of surgery for weight loss

For the treatment of severe obesity, weight loss surgery is growing in popularity. When looking at diet and exercise for more than 60 million Americans are considered obese, surgery fails for some, can literally saved my life.

But this is not for everyone. Although generally safe, bariatric surgical weight loss (as easily) bariatric surgery has risks. And losing weight after bariatric surgery is far from automatic, requiring a commitment to the continued evolution of diet and lifestyle.

It could, according to the National Institutes of Health, Weight Loss Surgery an option for you if you're the first or second criteria and these criteria, three, four, to be fair, and five: Are you a candidate for weight loss surgery?

1. Being a body mass index (BMI) greater than the 40th


* Five feet three inches tall and weighing up to more than 248 pounds * five feet nine inches tall and weighs over 270 pounds, * Six feet tall and weighs over 295 pounds.

You can calculate your BMI with a BMI calculator on WebMD.

2. Your BMI is over 35 and have problems with obesity, which may improve with weight loss.

Obstructive sleep apnea, severe arthritis and diabetes are many conditions that can benefit from even to lose weight very low. Surgical weight loss can significantly reverse these health problems if it causes obesity.
3. You can see that weight loss programs such as the traditional diet and exercise have not worked.

It is far better to lose weight, not the risks of surgery. Surgery for weight loss should not fail as a last resort after traditional methods. Some centers may need to show you that there are serious efforts to lose weight.

4. They are ready to commit to permanent lifestyle changes after surgery.

Surgical weight loss has no quick fix. Ideally, the operation is just the beginning of a new healthy lifestyle.

5. They understand the risks and benefits of surgical weight loss.

As with any surgery, it is important to be well educated, informed, before weight loss surgery - the knowledge and acceptance of risks and benefits.

The main benefit of surgery for weight loss is easy to see weight loss!

* Gastric bypass causes an average loss of 61% of excess weight.
* Surgery Gastric Band causes less - on average lost 47% of excess weight.



About 95% of men have a better quality of life after surgery for weight loss. Some studies also show that people are living longer after surgery for weight loss, compared with people who are obese are also not surgery.

About 1 400 people die from complications of bariatric surgery in thirty days. The risk is greater for those over 60 years. After surgery at a center with very experienced surgeons reduces this risk.

Almost all obese people have poor eating habits. A common problem is greed . After surgery, weight loss, eating large quantities of food at one sitting, you make us sick. For many people, is to learn to eat small frequent meals is a challenge.


Eat junk food, or vitamin deficiency can lead to severe malnutrition, weight loss surgery. This can cause bone disease, loss of muscle tone and low blood counts (anemia).

Keeping weight off is much easier if a person is active and exercises. In addition, exercise lowers prices for many diseases like cancer and heart disease. To maintain weight loss long term, exercise is essential.

These major lifestyle changes are not automatically or easily for most. Many surgery centers offer weight loss programs behavioral counseling to help people transition to the new lifestyle and healthy after surgery.