From celebrities to everyday people, many overweight and obese individuals, frustrated with trying diet after diet, to no avail, have undergone weight loss surgery.

Traditionally this surgery is recommended for men who are at least 100 pounds overweight and women who are at least 80 pounds overweight.

Depending on each patient’s needs, risk factors, conditions, and financial wherewithal various types of surgeries are available include gastric bypass surgery. Currently most of these types of surgeries are not covered under traditional health insurance policies. Therefore, patients are paying most if not all the associated medical expenses.

I’m not debating the effectiveness of weight loss surgery, as that has already been proved, especially so for the morbidly obese. It does and can work for many people.

But people who think weight loss surgery is a “Silver Bullet” to solve the underlying problem must reassess their thinking.

In the news this week, Lifestyle change key for obesity surgery success, Dr. Carolyn Clancy, director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) in Rockville, Maryland, told Reuters Health, “People who succeed and lose weight and keep it off eat very, very differently. Essentially, you’ve got to eat a whole lot less.”

Bariatric surgery has skyrocketed in popularity, Clancy noted in the interview, but just a fraction of people who could benefit most from the surgery have obtained it.

According to AHRQ, evidence for the procedure’s benefits is strongest for people with body mass indexes (BMIs) of 40 or higher, or individuals with BMI’s of 35 or greater and who have a serious medical condition, such as diabetes or severe sleep apnea.

Even with the surgery, people still need to make a healthy lifestyle change which begs the question:

“Why not make the lifestyle changes before the surgery?”

Because, after all, it’s about a healthy lifestyle!

© Iowa Avenue