There’s a huge difference difference between being 25 pounds overweight and being obese. Being overweight simply means that you’re over the weight that’s set for your height and bone structure. But being obese is something totally different. The medical establishment states that anyone who is more than 100 pounds overweight or who has a BMI greater than 40 kg/m2 is considered morbidly obese. Morbid obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it has an adverse effect on health.
Typically those people who are ‘overweight’ can follow a diet regimen coupled with exercise and with some hard work, the extra pounds can drop off. Whereas an obese person, may need medical assistance to achieve their weight loss goals. Obesity comes in all colors, ages and genders. It does not discriminate.
When diets have failed, many obese people look to weight loss surgery as an option. According to the National Institutes of Health, weight loss surgery might be a choice for you if you meet the first or second of the following criteria and criteria three, four, and five:
- A body mass index (BMI) greater than 40.
- Your BMI is greater than 35, and you have obesity-related health problems that may improve with weight loss.
- You can demonstrate that traditional weight loss programs like diet and exercise haven’t worked.
- You are ready to commit to permanent lifestyle changes after surgery.
- You understand the risks and benefits of weight loss surgery.
Although weight loss surgery may seem like a quick fix, there are definitely pros and cons to go with it. Weight loss surgery carries real risks. As many as 10% of people have complications afterward. Anything from nausea, wound infections and abdominal hernias and occur. Those are actually the minor complications, more serious ones can involve blood clot to the lungs (pulmonary embolism), leaks in the new surgical gut connections, bleeding ulcers and heart attacks. Studies also show that one in 400 people die from weight loss surgery complications in the first thirty days.
What are you opinions on weight loss surgeries? Do you think they can be ‘quick’ fixes? Are they worth the potential health risks?
