Obese Teens Who Receive Gastric Banding Achieve Significant Weight Loss

Chicago — A higher percentage of severely obese adolescents who received laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding lost more than 50 percent of excess weight and experienced greater benefits to health and quality of life compared to those in an intensive lifestyle management program, according to a study in the February 10 issue of JAMA.

Adolescent obesity is a serious health challenge globally. In the U.S., more than 17.4 percent, or more than 5 million adolescents were obese in 2004, an increase from 14.8 percent in 2000. Obesity is associated with both immediate and late health effects and reduced life expectancy, according to background information in the article. Lifestyle programs that have included changes in diet, exercise, and behavior to promote weight loss often have poor results. “Bariatric surgery is now extensively used for adults and is being evaluated for adolescents,” the authors write. “Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (gastric banding) has the potential to provide a safe and effective treatment.”

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Obesity Now Poses As Great a Threat to Quality of Life As Smoking

San Diego, CA – As the US population becomes increasingly obese while smoking rates continue to decline, obesity has become an equal, if not greater, contributor to the burden of disease and shortening of healthy life in comparison to smoking. In an article published in the February 2010 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers from Columbia University and The City College of New York calculate that the Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALYs) lost due to obesity is now equal to, if not greater than, those lost due to smoking, both modifiable risk factors.

QALYs use preference-based measurements of Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) which allow a person to state a relative preference for a given health outcome. Since one person may value a particular outcome differently than another person, these measures capture how each respondent views his or her own quality of life.

The 1993–2008 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), the largest ongoing state-based health survey of US adults, has conducted interviews of more than 3,500,000 individuals; annual interviews started with 102,263 in 1993 and culminated with 406,749 in 2008. This survey includes a set of questions that measures HRQOL, asking about recent poor health days and tracking overall physical and mental health of the population. The authors analyzed these data and converted the measures to QALYs lost due to smoking and obesity.

From 1993 to 2008, when the proportion of smokers among US adults declined 18.5%, smoking-related QALYs lost were relatively stable at 0.0438 QALYs lost per population. During the same period, the proportion of obese people increased 85% and this resulted in 0.0464 QALYs lost. Smoking had a bigger impact on deaths while obesity had a bigger impact on illness.

Investigators Haomiao Jia, PhD and Erica I. Lubetkin, MD, MPH, state, “Although life expectancy and QALE have increased over time, the increase in the contribution of mortality to QALYs lost from obesity may result in a decline in future life expectancy. Such data are essential in setting targets for reducing modifiable health risks and eliminating health disparities.”

The article is “Trends in Quality-Adjusted Life-Years Lost Contributed by Smoking and Obesity” by Haomiao Jia, PhD, and Erica I. Lubetkin, MD, MPH. The article appears in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Volume 38, Issue 2 (February 2010) published by Elsevier.

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Reproductive Health Findings for Bariatric Patients: Obesity at Young Age Increases Likelihood of Infertility and Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome; Chances of Pregnancy and Live Birth Are Good

In an observational study of the reproductive health of women undergoing bariatric surgery, researchers analyzed data from 1,538 patients treated at six US clinical sites participating in the Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery (LABS) study, supported by the National Institutes of Health.

The participants were measured for height and weight and answered questions about their sexual history, pregnancy history, infertility history, history of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), history of contraceptive use, and plans for future pregnancy. The participants also completed a validated self-administered weight history, giving their weights at 18, 25 and 30 years.

The researchers found that women who became obese by age 18 were more likely to have a history of infertility and polycystic ovarian syndrome and less likely to become pregnant than women who became obese later in life. However, the overall percentages of LABS-2 participants who had at least one pregnancy (79%) and at least one live birth (74%) were comparable to the general US population.

While about half of the women surveyed between ages 18 and 44 and not reporting menopause, sterilization, partner sterilization, or other impediments to pregnancy said that they would never try to become pregnant after bariatric surgery, 30% of women in this category thought the possibility of future pregnancy was very important. Of those women, almost 33% planned to get pregnant within two years of having bariatric surgery.

“As the incidence of obesity increases in the United States, women’s health care practitioners are likely to care for a substantial number of patients who will undergo bariatric surgery. Studies like this one are extremely useful to help us determine how to advise these patients and best meet their needs,” remarked William Gibbons, MD, President-Elect of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.

For more information about bariatric surgery and Assisted Reproductive Technology do not hesitate to contact us.

Linking weight loss to less sleep apnea

Temple-led study, the largest of its kind, finds weight loss has significant impact on the disorder

More than 12 million people in the U.S. suffer from sleep apnea, most common among the overweight and obese. More than just loud snoring, it can lead to high blood pressure, stroke, cardiovascular disease and a poor quality of life. For years, doctors have told patients with sleep apnea that their best bet for alleviating it would be to lose weight, but there’s been very little research-based evidence to prove that.

“Existing research has been limited by a number of factors, so there are very few studies that show whether the recommended amount of weight loss – about 10 percent – is enough to sufficiently improve sleep apnea,” said Gary Foster, director of the Center for Obesity Research and Education.

Foster and colleagues from six other universities recently completed the largest randomized study on the effects of weight loss on sleep apnea in patients with type 2 diabetes. They found that among patients with severe sleep apnea, those who lost the recommended weight were three times more likely to nearly eliminate the number of sleep apnea episodes compared to those who did not lose weight. The results are published in the Sept. 28 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

The new study, called Sleep AHEAD, looked at 264 obese patients with type 2 diabetes already enrolled in the Look AHEAD trial, an ongoing 16-site study investigating the long-term health impact of an intensive lifestyle intervention in 5,145 overweight or obese adults with type 2 diabetes. Participants were between 45 and 75 years old.

The 264 participants were broken into two randomized groups: the first received a group behavioral weight loss program developed especially for obese patients with type 2 diabetes, portion-controlled diets, and a prescribed exercise regimen of 175 minutes per week. The second attended three group informational sessions over a one-year period that focused on diabetes management through diet, physical activity and social support.

After one year, members of the first group lost an average of 24 pounds. More than three times as many participants in this group had complete remission of their sleep apnea (13.6 percent compared to 3.5 percent), and also had about half the instances of severe sleep apnea as the second group. Further, participants in the second group only lost about a pound, and saw significant worsening of their sleep apnea, which suggested to Foster and his team that without treatment, the disorder can progress rapidly.

“These results show that doctors as well as patients can expect a significant improvement in their sleep apnea with weight loss,” said Foster, the study’s lead author. “And a reduction in sleep apnea has a number of benefits for overall health and well-being.”

For more information about weight loss benefits don’t hesitate to contact us.

Weight loss Before and After Photos: Gastric Bypass

In general defined, gastric bypass surgery describes any bariatric procedure that alters the digestive tract so that certain parts are “bypassed”. The food when passes through this altered tract, the body absorbs from it less calories than usual. The gastric bypass is the operation more commonly used to neutralize obesity.

Here are some photos before and after a gastric bypass surgery. For more information feel free to contact Doctor Norman Jalil.

Older Women Getting Breast Surgery

Studies show that more and more older women are undergoing breast augmentation surgery to get an extra lift.

According to reports, breast surgery was the most popular operation to have in America last year and one-third of the patients who went under the knife were 40 and older.

Why the Increase in Procedures?

Doctors claim that some women who get the surgery have lost weight due to other procedures such as bariatric surgery.

The recent marketing of the “mommy makeover” and natural aging also are contributing factors to the increasing number of older women who are having the surgery.

“The aging and childbearing take their toll on you,” says Dena Scott, a mother of two who recently had the procedure. “You start losing tissue.”

Patients Most Likely to Undergo Surgery

Dr. Walter Erhardt, the previous president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons claims that the majority of patients who are undergoing breast surgery are married women with children.

“These women don’t approach this so much as cosmetic surgery but as reconstructive surgery,” Erhardt explains.

Many, like Scott, are in their 40’s when they decide to go under the knife.

Researchers believe this is due to the fact that by this time the kids are most likely out of the house, or at least out of grade school, so the cost isn’t an issue.

Get a Breast Implant surgery done by Doctor Roberto Martinez Rinaldi and for any enquiries about Bariatric Surgery Doctor Norman Jalil will be glad to help you.

Source: Newsweek

Before and After a Bariatric Surgery performed by Doctor Norman Jalil