Pros and Cons of Weight Loss Surgery
Michalis 'BIG Mike' Kotzakolios

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Defined Tag: Weight Loss Surgery.

Introduction

The most widely accepted statistical estimate used by health professionals to screen for obesity is the Body Mass Index - BMI, computed by dividing the weight in kgs by the height in meters squared; the equation therefore is kg/m2. The Belgian statistician, Adolphe Quetelet, created the BMI in the 19th century. According to National Institute of Health, adults aged over 18, having a BMI greater than 25 are at risk for premature death and disabilities, as a result of being overweight or obese.

Obesity carries enormous health risks and economic costs. It is recognized as a major catalyst for developing cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, and other debilitating conditions. Estimates of the number of deaths attributable to obesity in the United States alone reach up to 350,000 per year. Weight loss surgery may be an alternative if the body mass index (BMI) is 40 or more. Weight loss surgery may also be considered if the BMI is 35, combined with other health problems such as diabetes or arthritis. Bariatric surgery or weight loss surgery is increasingly being used to combat obesity. For very severe obesity, or BMI greater than 50, intestinal-bypass weight loss surgery is indicated.

Types of Surgery

Bariatric surgery, as weight loss surgery is referred, has a controversial history dating back hundreds of years. But the first modern procedure on record was in 1889, performed by Howard A. Kelly.

There are two types of weight loss surgery used to treat obesity. The most common weight loss surgery is the restrictive operation (such as stomach stapling or adjustable gastric banding) where a silicon ring is placed around the top of the stomach to help decrease the food intake, by reducing the size of the stomach. This weight loss surgery got FDA approved in the United States since 2001, but has been prevalent in other parts of the world since the early 1990s.

Adjustable gastric banding is also considered the safest and least invasive weight loss surgery, as compared to a mal-absorptive operation (such as a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass weight loss surgery and biliopancreatic diversion) that restricts the food consumption and decreases the digestion and absorption of food.

Other type of surgery also known as ‘cosmetic plastic surgery’ is liposuction. In it, layers of fat are removed by performing an operation on those body parts where the fat has accumulated. Though the fat gets reduced for the time being, the factors and the causes remain untouched and therefore liposuction is only a temporary solution, and at best can be called a symptomatic treatment.

BIG Mike is a well known author, developer and Adsense expert as well as the owner of Niche Maniacs - a unique Adsense Marketing System designed to build long-term passive income streams from Adsense, YPN, Chitika and other PPC services.