Many more teenagers faced with obesity are turning to surgery as a form of treatment. Medical science is beginning to believe that drastic procedures such as gastric bypass or lap bands may actually be a form of treatment that works more effectively than lifestyle changes in teenagers who are severely obese.
In a study released in February in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the Los Angeles Times reported that of the 50 Australian teenagers in the study, half received surgery and the other half just went through radical lifestyle changes. The results were startling. The surgery group had lost 79% of their excess weight whereas the lifestyle group just saw a 13% change.
Many doctors are now suggesting that surgery can be a way to go for obese teenagers but there are risks involved. Here is a guide to the pros and cons of having surgery to reverse obesity as a teenager.
Gastric Bypass
Gastric bypass surgery involves making the stomach smaller and attaching it to your intestines further down the gastrointestinal tube so you absorb fewer calories and thus lose weight according to WebMD. The stomach is stapled or banded to be smaller and then the smaller organ is attached directly to the middle part of the small intestine.
In December of 2008, ABC News reported that gastric bypass surgery was effective in not only lowering body weight but also eliminating complications of being overweight including diabetes. But doctors have warned that there are no long-term studies that have been done on such surgery in teenagers due to the fact that the surgery is normally conducted on adult patients. Plus a teenager’s body is still growing and the lasting effects are not as yet known.
Lap Band
A lap band is considered to be less invasive of a procedure than gastric bypass surgery. A lap band, or gastric band, is wrapped around the top part of your stomach restricting the amount of food that can be consumed at once according to the University of California, San Diego Medical Center. A lap band also increases the time it takes to empty the stomach since less of the stomach is available for digestion.
The Los Angeles Times also quoted a study in 2007 that says gastric banding resulted in significant weight loss amongst those teens that underwent the surgery but there was no control group that underwent lifestyle changes and through which you can know Have you been injured after a botched cosmetic surgery? Because some people do not feel the much pain after the surgery that is quite dangerous and can invite many health issues.
While lap bands are less invasive and less permanent than gastric bypass, there are risks as metabolism is altered and teens do have a growing and changing body that could be altered by the amount of calories taken in
This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered actual medical advice. Consult with a doctor, pediatrician, or a metabolic specialist to determine the best course of action to reverse obesity.
