With all of the recent advancements in public health education and technology it seems like Americans must have made great progress to fight the obesity epidemic that scared the nation a decade ago. However, unfortunately this is not the case. Obesity is still on the rise and modern health & fitness "fads" have done little to change the picture. One of the only sources of hope lies in the future of surgical weight loss options such as the Gastric Sleeve and Bypass. An article from the LA times suggests that many Americans are:
"Letting themselves go." - Obesity
Studies over the past 15 years have revealed that the percentage of overweight people who are even attempting to lose weight have dropped significantly. This coincides with an increased tendency for overweight people to deny their condition and claim that they are in the normal body weight class. It would seem that many people have gotten used to being overweight, often after multiple failed attempts at dieting. Unfortunately after losing weight from standard dieting
"the post-diet body undergoes a host of changes designed to ensure that weight loss is regained." - New England Journal of Medicine
It is an unfortunate fact that within five years of having lost weight the standard dieter will typically regain 95 percent of the weight they lost. This is largely because body has mechanisms in place to reach an equilibrium weight which is usually a persons largest point. Even though decreased body weight would greatly reduce stress on the heart, the body still gravitates towards the higher weight. The body simply does not change without a huge stimulus. Weight loss surgery provides this stimulus.
"Obese patients who opt for bariatric surgery... reduces mortality by 30% to 50% seven years to 15 years after surgery" - American Family Physician
The long term benefits of weight loss surgery are clear: it works. A group of 1800 patients who had the gastric bypass were surveyed by the NIDDIK 10 years afterwards and only 19 of them had regained back to near their starting point! That is barely 1% of all patients! Overweight Americans are losing hope in the "yoyo" cycle of consistently losing weight and then putting it right back on. Weight Loss Surgery is likely the best answer for many of them.
For information about Weight Loss Surgery & the Gastric Sleeve call BeLiteWeight today!
Works Cited
http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-fewer-americans-diet-20170308-story.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/do-the-benefits-of-weight-loss-surgery-really-last/
http://www.menshealth.com/health/health-problems-with-weight-regain