Weight-Loss Surgery Yet To Attract People

According to the American Obesity Association, obese people have a 50-100 per cent increased risk of death as compared to normal weight individuals.

Severe obesity is associated with a significant increase in morbidity. Attempts to manage morbid obesity with medical weight reduction programmes have failed completely. Childhood obesity is on the rise in Pakistan due to changing lifestyle. More than 30 per cent people in the cities like Lahore, Faisalabad and Gujranwala are suffering from the disease owing to their disorderly eating habits.

Obesity is an excess of total body fat, which results from caloric intake that exceeds energy usage. A measurement used to assess health risks of obesity is Body Mass Index (BMI).Under Bariatric surgery, a (gastric) band made of silicon is wrapped around the top part of the stomach. Inside the band is a balloon that can be adjusted by adding or taking fluid out of it. This is placed on the body muscles and is connected to the band tubing. A new very small stomach is created above the band that makes the patient feel full after eating just a few mouthfuls. The food empties slowly from this pouch so the patient feels hungry less often.

In Pakistan patients with morbid obesity usually do not respond to medical means of weight loss. Efforts to treat morbid obesity through controlled diets, behaviors modification and exercise programmes are only temporarily successful. High cost of treatment is the reason of obese people prefers ring surgery which is the only method by which long-term and permanent weight loss can be achieved.