Morbid obesity means “clinically severe obesity”. It is considered a chronic disease of excess energy stores in the form of fat. Morbid obesity correlates with a Body Mass Index of more than 40 or with being 100 pounds overweight.
Body Mass Index (BMI) is the ratio between your height and weight. It is calculated as your weight in kilograms (kg), divided by your height in meters squared (m2). |
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The Gastric Bypass is considered by the American Society of Bariatric Surgeons and the National Institutes of Health to be the gold standard of weight loss surgery, and the single most successful procedure for excess weight loss and long-term weight control. A combination restrictive/malabsorptive operation, it is the operation of choice for most Bariatric surgeons in the United States. Gastric Bypass now has patients more than 15 years post-surgery and maintaining about 60% of their excess weight loss. |
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The Sleeve Gastrectomy is a new procedure that induces weight loss by restricting food intake. With this procedure, approximately 80-85 percent of the stomach is removed laparoscopically so that the stomach takes the shape of a tube or "sleeve." This procedure is usually performed on superobese or high risk patients with the intention of performing another surgery at a later time. This surgery may also be done on regular patients (BMI of 30+) who desire a lower risk procedure than the Gastric Bypass while getting similar results. The second procedure a gastric bypass can then be done if necessary for the superobese to reach goal. The sleeve gastrectomy is a restrictive form of weight loss surgery in which approximately 85% of the stomach is removed leaving a cylindrical or sleeve shaped stomach with a capacity ranging from about 60 to 150 cc, depending upon the surgeon performing the procedure. Unlike many other forms of stomach stapling surgery, the outlet valve and the nerves to the stomach remain intact and, while the stomach is drastically reduced in size, its function is preserved. The sleeve gastrectomy is not reversible. |  |
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What Is The Lap-Band®?
Approved by the FDA in June 2001, the BioEnterics® Lap-Band® Adjustable Gastric Banding System is the newest and the only adjustable surgical treatment for morbid obesity in the United States. It induces weight loss by reducing the capacity of the stomach, which restricts the amount of food that can be consumed. |
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 | Today's popular diets are classified as Low-Carb, Low-Fat, Low Calorie or a combination
Carb paranoia struck when people discovered that all the fat-free food they loaded up on during the last diet craze was making them fat. Low-carb diets are weight-loss schemes that allow you to eat all the protein you want-steak, eggs, even fatty bacon-so long as you cut way down on carbohydrates like bread, pasta and soda. With these diets, you just feel miraculously free of the craving and the drive to eat. Celebrities and everyday folks alike are bragging about the bacon and eggs they downed for breakfast, followed by a midday repast of pork rinds. In return for this unlimited meat, all the new diets ask is that you lay off the penne and rice. Worries concern the high levels of protein and fat in many of these diets, as well as their lack of fiber. |
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| Our bodies need 3 different fuel types or nutrients. The body can convert some nutrients into others, such as carbohydrates into fats and vice-versa, but a balanced diet remains the ideal. Of the 3 nutrient groups, the carbohydrates, which consist of sugar molecules, are the basic suppliers of energy in the food pyramid. Carbohydrates have a caloric content of 3 calories per gram. The second nutrient group to provide energy is fat. The caloric content of fat is 9 calories per gram, 3 times higher than carbohydrates. The third basic food group are proteins. Proteins are the building blocks for new body cells for growth and tissue turnover. They can also be metabolized however, to produce energy during periods of extreme starvation. Proteins have the same caloric content per gram as carbohydrates. Lastly alcohol, needs to be mentioned, not as a nutrient, but when consumed, it represents 9 calories per gram, the same high level as pure fat. |  |
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