Weight-Loss Surgery May Eliminate Liver Disease
A dangerous liver disease that's a side effect of obesity appears to be completely overcome in a majority of patients as a result of the weight loss following bariatric surgery, according to a recently published report.
Obesity, which has become epidemic in the United States, has grown from afflicting 15 percent of the population in 1980 to 32.9 percent in 2004. It leads to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in around 70 percent of the obese and in 85 percent to 95 percent of those who are morbidly obese. Obesity is defined using body mass index (BMI), which relates an individual's weight to his or her height. A person with a BMI of 30 or above is considered obese. People who are morbidly obese have a BMI of 40 or more.
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Weight-Loss Surgery With One Small Incision
Stomach banding is an important weapon in the war chest of the bariatric surgeon - but it typically requires five incisions and a considerable recovery time.
But a new technique just coming into use needs just a single incision to accomplish the task of gastric banding, that is, tying off the top portion of the stomach so that food flow is restricted and slowed down. When the small, top part of the stomach is full, it signals the brain, which tells the body it's no longer hungry. This can lead to large reductions in weight for the morbidly obese, who are the only category of patients allowed to undergo the surgery.
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Signs of a Good Bariatric Surgery Candidate
If you're obese and have tried every diet imaginable, sticking to it faithfully, and still can't lose the excess poundage, you might be a candidate for weight-loss surgery.
But bariatric surgeons don't choose just anyone. To qualify, a prospective patient must satisfy certain criteria. First, a person's body mass index, or BMI, must be at least 40 - or he or she must weigh at least 100 pounds more than his or her ideal weight.
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Researchers Control "Hunger Hormone"
Investigators may have found a novel route to weight loss by controlling the hormone that produces appetite.
The hormone, ghrelin, is produced by the fundus, or upper part of the stomach. Since ghrelin requires a rich supply of blood to be created, the scientists shut down the blood supply to that area of the stomach by chemically blocking the main artery there.
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Chocolate Milkshakes Shed Insight on Obesity
The journal "Science" reports on the impact of chocolate milkshakes on obese people versus non-obese people.
The Oct. 17 issue of the journal "Science" reports on the impact of chocolate milkshakes on obese people versus non-obese people. Chocolate milkshakes in particular were studied because: "There are very few things that excite the brain as much as chocolate." So says researchers at the Oregon Research Institute and the University of Oregon, where the study was conducted.
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Bariatric Surgery Found to Lower Risk of Death
Obesity is on the rise, and so are associated health risks like diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and sleep apnea. Although once believed to be a risky and rare procedure, bariatric surgery is becoming a prevalent option for people who suffer from morbid obesity. Over 175,000 patients underwent bariatric surgery last year and the number is expected to grow this year. Although there are risks in undergoing these procedures, the surgery death rate has fallen over the years as the technique becomes more sophisticated and less invasive.
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Weight Loss Surgery for Older Americans
A new study published in the Archives of Surgery found no difference between outcomes of patients younger or older than 60 years who underwent gastric by-pass surgery.
This study at the Western Reserve University Medical Center, followed 900 patients after having gastric by-pass surgery. The researchers found, "no differences in outcomes between older vs younger nor for Medicare vs non-Medicare patients for any postoperative complication or mortality." There were no mortalities among 46 patients 60 years and older a year after surgery.
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Obesity and Weight Loss Surgery
Severe obesity is a chronic condition that is difficult to treat through diet and exercise alone. Bariatric surgery is one of the best options for people who are severely obese and cannot lose weight by traditional means or who suffer from serious obesity-related health problems. The surgery promotes weight loss by restricting food intake and, in some operations, interrupting the digestive process. As in other treatments for obesity, the best results are achieved with healthy eating behaviors and regular physical activity.
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Gastric Banding
Millions of us are fighting the battle of the bulge. While diet and exercise work, for many it doesn’t cut it. But aggressive surgery is too much for most. This is really intended for those considered morbidly, or extremely obese, so much so it’s an immediate risk to one’s health.
Now, maybe, there’s something in between.
Ed Schauder has struggled for years with his weight…
It’s been a recurring cycle of failed diets. “Just about every single one of them, slim fast, weigh watchers,” says Ed.
And when he hit his forties, he realized, he was in trouble.
“I probably was more than 370 pounds when I first cam here in May of 2005. I couldn’t register on the scale,” says Ed.
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New GERD Procedure
For Julie Bayley there’s nothing better than cooking up an exotic home cooked meal and pairing it with the perfect bottle of wine. But, Julie says that for years her epicurean indulgences left her paying the price…unrelenting vicious heartburn. “It is like a river of lava coming up into your throat and just burning relentlessly and at the same time that is happening there is this pressure on your chest, it is just unbelievable pain,” says Julie.
Julie suffers from GERD…gastroesophageal reflux disease. This chronic reflux of stomach contents into the esophagus is often due to a weakening of tissues that make up the valve-like barrier between the esophagus and stomach. Most GERD patients have abnormal functioning of this valve allowing stomach contents to flow freely into the esophagus causing severe heartburn.
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