Posts Tagged ‘bariatric surgery’

An unfounded stigma surrounds weight loss surgery. This prejudice has its primary roots in forgivable ignorance about the reality of a body’s resistance to weight loss. A widespread view is that obesity is a chosen way of life, not an actual disease. The Pattern of a Disease The World Obesity Federation recently published a statement […]

The big JAMA obesity issue came out this week with a promising theme: “Reimagining Obesity in 2018.” It was full of good new data on bariatric surgery. But it was a little short on imagination. At JAMA, judging by the content of this special issue, they’re still not quite ready to rethink obesity. Count Calories, […]

JAMA released a special issue devoted to obesity late yesterday. Bariatric surgery is front and center. The study that’s grabbing headlines is a retrospective study of survival after bariatric surgery. In a very careful analysis, researchers found that after approximately 4.5 years, bariatric surgery cuts the risk of death by almost half, compared to usual […]

In severe obesity, teen hearts are at risk. High blood pressure, cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes can begin harming these young people early in life. But a new study published yesterday in Pediatrics confirms that bariatric surgery can resolve these risk factors for teens. An 85% Drop in Teens with ≥ 3 Risk Factors At the […]

The time is coming near. As this year draws to a close and the next year opens, people are lining up to sell you inspiring stories of weight loss. These stories are all about people who have changed their lives in dramatic ways. Sometimes they’re selling a product or a program. Sometimes it’s a book. […]

Many people think obesity is all about weight and height and BMI. To them, we suggest pausing to think about the liver. Everyone has one. No one can live without it. And in obesity, liver function suffers. But with a new study published in Diabetes Care, we find some encouragement. Researchers found that six months […]

We have a new window into the thinking of primary care physicians (PCPs) about obesity. But the view is dismal. On the subject of obesity, physicians believe that that biology is not so important. Why do people with obesity tend to regain weight? Physicians say behavioral factors are more important than biology. Likewise, they rated […]

Efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare have come and gone this year. They may come again. But for now, seven years after passage of the Affordable Care Act, the direct impact on obesity care has been hard to see. At the ObesityWeek advocacy forum Wednesday, you could hear just about any perspective you wanted. The […]

At ObesityWeek, the Obesity Journal Symposium is always a good bet and yesterday was no exception. Among five excellent papers, one was especially intriguing – a study of how a gastric sleeve affects teen brain function. It was a small, but careful study with tantalizing results. Alaina Pearce and colleagues studied 36 patients in one active […]

Budgets are tight. England’s National Health Service (NHS) faces a funding gap that threatens patient safety and the quality of care. What to do? Two clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in Hertfordshire have a plan. They’ll restrict care for smokers and people with obesity. Smokers will have to quit before they can have non-urgent surgery. People with […]