Weight management has assumed a lot of significance in the present scenario with increasing affluence, abundance of convenience food and lack of physical activity. Excess weight is the result of long-term, consistent consumption of much more calories than you are able to expend, irrespective of the etiology.
Any individual having 10-20 % more weight than the ideal body weight according to his height and weight is considered to be overweight. According to the World Health Organization (1996), any individual having BMI more than 25 is considered to be overweight and if the person is unable to manage his weight being overweight, he can become obese and obesity leads to many lifestyle disorders and risk health. To avoid these lifestyle disorders such as arthritis, certain types of cancers, cardiovascular diseases, infertility, etc. people, nowadays are opting for Weight loss surgeries for which Bariatric Surgery is a very good and successful option.
Bariatric Surgery is a surgical procedure where the gut size is adjusted in order to control the portion size or restrict the meal intake in order to manage the adjusted weight and remain healthy. Depending upon the condition and need the patient may undergo any of the listed bariatric procedures – Sleeve Gastrectromy, Roux-EN-Y Gastric Bypass or Mini Gastric Bypass. The procedures result in 20-30% weight reduction within 1 year of the procedure. This surgery not only helps in weight loss but also reduces the risks of various lifestyle disorders which may occur due to excess weight or obesity such as Infertility, Sleep disorders, Psychological Problems, Diabetes Mellitus etc.
More than 90% of bariatric patients reduce 50% or more of their excessive body weight and can be benefitted long-term. Exercise, physical activities and dieting can also be followed in order to lose weight, but sometimes the body doesn’t favor or accept the dietary changes and thus the patient faces difficulty in following the weight loss journey and this may be a short-term benefit for the patient.
Bariatric surgery gives a long-term success rate. This long-term weight management is successful only if the patient focuses completely on the diet, medicines and activity as prescribed by the doctor and the dietician. It’s very important for the dietician to guide the patient correctly about the diet after the procedure and also the patient should be committed to follow all the prescribed diets according to the procedure in order to stay fit and healthy and meet the weight loss goal.
The success rate of Bariatric surgery is very high according to the studies, considering the post procedure diet and precautions.
The patient should visit for regular follow-ups and report to the surgeon or the dietician in case he faces any problems post-surgery.
Pre-surgical counseling is also necessary for the patient to make him aware about the issues he might face post-surgery. The patient is guided and counseled with all the aspects of the procedure and all the post-procedure symptoms.
In addition to the regular diet and medication, a change in the lifestyle is also necessary in order to achieve the desired result. These lifestyle changes may include regular walking, exercise, avoiding stress, not skipping meals, staying active and maintaining a negative energy balance. Maintaining the negative energy balance implies to the consumption of less calories than expending. Maintaining the negative energy balance consistently is very crucial in maintaining and making the weight loss procedure a success and to avoid any complications post-surgery such as Dumping Syndrome which causes nausea, dizziness, cramps etc.
Bariatric Surgery – an easy trending surgery with a high success rate impacts people not only because it helps in reducing or losing inches but also because it helps preventing many lifestyle disorders which may occur due to obesity.
According to the study conducted on around 9,433 participants who had undergone Bariatric Surgery for obesity, indicates that the conducted surgery has a significant positive effect on the overall quality of life. The impact shows a more positive influence on the physical quality of life as compared to the mental quality. Bariatric Surgery is proven to be effective in improving the quality of life especially in terms of physical well-being.
At last, let’s conclude with a thought –
“Physical fitness is the first requisite of Happiness!”
– Dt. Shafaq Rizvi
