Should You Have Weight-Loss Surgery?

In light of the nation's current obesity crisis, it's no surprise that weight-loss surgery is gaining in popularity. Between 1994 and 2009, the number of weight-loss surgeries performed in the United States increased an average of 20% every year. In 2009, there were 350,000 weight-loss surgeries performed, compared to approximately 16,000 in 1994.

Rose Medical Center in Denver has opened the country's first surgical weight-loss center for teens despite warnings that surgical intervention should be a last resort for teenagers, and recent reports that bariatric surgery can resolve diabetes have led some doctors to extend the procedures to a wider patient base.

Types of weight-loss surgery

Several different types of weight-loss surgery are currently available, with more undergoing clinical trials. Bariatric surgeries use two primary methods for helping patients lose weight by restricting caloric intake. Procedures that are restrictive in nature limit the amount of food the stomach can hold. Adjustable gastric banding, commonly referred to as Lap-Band surgery, uses a flexible silicone ring placed around the upper portion of the stomach to create a small pouch that can hold only a small amount of food. Patients feel full sooner, and eat less.

Malabsorptive procedures reduce the amount of nutrients and calories that patients absorb from ....

Source : http://www.healthytheory.com