Gastric Lap-Band Surgery
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I remember the skepticism I received when I first started telling my friends and family that I was interested in working with weight loss surgery patients.
"What?!" They exclaimed...
..."you believe in bariatric surgery?!...I thought you were a strong proponent of diet and exercise to lose weight?!"
I am, I replied. And I always will be. However, I'm too aware of the statistics to ignore gastric lap band surgery as a viable option.
It's well known that morbid obesity is a serious disease associated with a number of life-threatening illnesses that can be improved with sufficient weight loss. However...
Although many people lose weight temporarily with diet, exercise, pharmacotherapy, and/or behavior modification, research has demonstrated that fewer than 5% of all dieters lose a significant amount of weight and maintain that weight loss over a 5 year period. Furthermore, according to research, 90% of all dieters regain some or all of the lost weight and at least 1/3 even gain even more.
Pretty depressing. In fact, these statistics could easily throw me into the mid life crisis I've been flirting with if I were to let them!
I've spent the last 16 years of my life devoted to helping people lose weight. Have I been wasting my time? Should I continue to hold on to the hope and belief that weight loss success is possible when the odds suggest just the opposite?
Here's where the research about gastric lap-band surgery crossed my desk.
- There's research showing gastric band patients typically lose 50-60% of excess weight over 5 years.
- Resolution or improvement has been seen in 90% or more of gastric band patients with asthma, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
If a person has a 90% or greater chance of resolving or improving type 2 diabetes, asthma, sleep apnea or GERD as a result of weight loss surgery, when they have a slim to none chance of losing weight on their own and never resolving those health issues, why wouldn't gastric banding surgery be a viable option?
Think about it...
...If you had cancer (G-d forbid) and your doctor said, "I have 2 treatment options for you:
One has a 95% failure rate. The other has a 90% success rate.
Which treatment option would you choose?
That being said...
How I ultimately feel about weight loss and weight loss surgery
I will continue to believe until my dying day that weight loss is possible through diet, exercise, and behavior modification. I will continue to believe that any one of my clients has the potential to be one of the 5% who actually does achieve and sustain weight loss in this way.
At the same time I believe it's possible, I accept that it's not probable.
That being the case, I support the decision of those who opt for gastric lap-band surgery and am committed to educating you and sharing my experience as a gastric band dietitian so that you get the best results possible from your gastric lap-band surgery.
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