Shrinking America: One Surgery at a Time :: essays research papers

Kellie received bariatric surgery a year and a half ago, at age 26, and lost over half her exercising weightclx pounds (St. Vincent 1). Over one million morbidly obese people in the United States be in possession of already received gastric bypass surgery. Since obesity has reached such(prenominal) epidemic proportions, everyone in America is looking for a cure. Gastric bypass surgery has rapidly become a solution for severely obese persons. world obese causes emotional and physical distress and suffering, which increases a persons desire to become thin. Several thousands of people are taking control of their lives and health by having bariatric surgery. Gastric bypass surgery has been performed with minor variations since 1968 (How it Works 3). The procedure has grown rapidly over the past few years and numerous hospitals have added the surgery. Success rate/recovery, societys influence, and health factors all play a significant role as causes for a person to decide if this lif e-altering, sometimes dangerous, surgery is right for them.Roux-en-Y gastric bypass is the most popular of three surgeries for the morbidly obese. In this procedure, surgical staples are used to create a teeny pouch in the stomach connected to the bowel by a piece of the small intestine, bypassing the majority of the Babbitt 2stomach. This form of surgery accounts for about 90% of the procedures performed in the United States (USA Today 2). Generally gastric bypass remains strictly for patients who are morbidly obese by 100 pounds or more over his or her healthy weight. When people have this surgery, they depart not only lose a significant amount of weight, but besides see obesity-related diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and sleep apnea greatly diminish or even vanish (Hochstrasser 98). Most patients will lose 50-70% of their excess personate weight some patients will lose even more (Hochstrasser 53). The operation limits the amount of food a person takes in, decreases the amount of calories consumed, and makes it so eating less will still be satisfying. By exercising and eating healthy foods, the weight-loss can be considerably enhanced. Though the surgery rarely gets people to their ideal body weight, most patients get within 30-40 pounds (Woodward 67). Weight loss begins immediately after the operation. The majority of people will continue to lose weight for approximately 12 months. The amount of weight a patient will lose every month will fluctuate depending upon the height and weight prior to surgery (Woodward 57).