Known as the land of the free, America is also well known for it’s highly advanced health care system that offers its patients some of — if not the — best health care in the world. In fact, American physicians and surgeons are so well renowned that foreigners from across the globe often come to the United States for complicated procedures in order to ensure they receive the highest and safest level of care.
Ironically, despite America’s reputation for advanced health care, it’s also one of the unhealthiest and heaviest countries in the world, with high rates of both childhood and adult obesity. In addition, the United States also has abnormally high rates of both childhood and adult diabetes, as well as other chronic health conditions such as heart disease and high blood pressure that are related to being overweight.
Just take a look at these startling statistics. Recent research studies have also revealed an astonishing trend among adult obesity with more than two in three adults being considered overweight or obese. Furthermore, more than one in 20 adults are considered to have extreme obesity. In cases of extreme obesity, patients can weight upwards of 600 pounds or more and are at a much greater risk of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and more due to their immobility.
Luckily, advances in medical technology and nutrition have yielded a variety of highly effective treatments for obesity, including bariatric surgery and weight loss surgery. Although these kind of surgeries pose some health risks, especially since they’re being performed on overweight and obese patients, they are extremely effective in allowing obese patients to limit their caloric intake and lose weight in a healthy way.
However keep in mind that all bariatric surgeries are not created equal. What works for one patient may not be the right course of treatment for another. Only experienced and professional bariatric surgeons can determine which kind of surgery is best for the patient. They come to this decision by looking at the current weight of the patient, as well as any underlying medical conditions.
The three most common kinds of bariatric surgery are the gastric bypass procedure, gastric lap band, and gastric sleeve surgery.
Although many people are quite familiar with gastric bypass surgery, many people are unfamiliar with gastric sleeve surgery and may have never even heard of it. As an alternative to gastric bypass surgery, gastric sleeve surgery involves removing half of the stomach in order to create a “sleeve” that connects the esophagus to the small intestine. This limits the amount food, and therefore calories, that the patient can consume at a given period of time, thus leading to rapid but health weight loss.
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