Surgical Treatment For Morbid Obesity

In today’s society where good looks, physical fitness, appearance, and good health are used to measure success, confidence, and self-control, it is ironic that eating disorders are so prevalent in our culture. People are so concerned with how other people view their physical appearance that when they cannot meet their own or others’ expectations they often develop eating disorders. However, anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are not the only types of eating disorders. Today there is an increasing number of obese people who suffer from overeating. These people find it especially difficult to have the kind of lifestyles that they desire. Obesity and associated medical complications take the lives of thousands of people each year. Many obese individuals are aware of current or possible medical problems, but though they have tried diverse measures to solve their eating problems by using suppression drugs, commercial diet programs, behavioral therapies, hypnosis, exercise programs, jaw wiring, etc., they usually regain the weight after it is lost. Surgical intervention, which started in the 1960’s, however, has gained increased popularity in the last 50 years as a means of controlling and maintaining weight loss for morbidly obese individuals. This paper will provide you with general facts concerning surgical intervention for obese patients, claims made by web sites, as well as evidence and results based on scientific findings. The goal for paper is to help readers understand the surgical procedures, the benefits and risks involved, and to answer questions that potential candidates for surgical intervention may have.

Who Qualifies for Surgery?

According to the SurgiLite web site (surgilite.net/Introduction.htm), although i...

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