Healthy Tidbits

With You All The Way


How Bariatric Surgery Helps With Weight Loss

Aug 01, 2014

How Bariatric Surgery Helps With Weight Loss
Contemplating the thought of bariatric surgery can be a scary proposition, but so can dealing with the potential implications of serious obesity. Doing something about it is possible and the best doctors will make sure the right procedure is selected for your unique case. After all, weight loss surgery should not, under any circumstances, be a one-size-fits-all proposition.

When to Seek Bariatric Surgery
While bariatric surgery has strong, proven results that can help change people’s lives, it is considered a measure of last resort. Before considering this permanent option for weight loss, be sure to work directly with a physician or trainer to try proper diet and exercise. If that doesn’t produce the desired results, it’s probably time to seek out bariatric surgery, especially if obesity levels are extreme and the risk of complications are strong.

Here’s How it Helps
Depending on the surgical procedure selected by you and your doctor, this type of surgery is meant to promote weight loss in one of three ways. They are:

  • Restricting the amount of food you can eat before the body feels full by reducing the size of the stomach.
  • Limiting caloric intake by bypassing part of the digastric tract. This causes “malabsorption,” which essentially cuts down on the amount of food processed for caloric use by the body.
  • Combination of the above two for cases where it is called for.

In addition to helping with weight loss, bariatric surgery can also have positive, near immediate benefits on the complications that arise from obesity. As weight is shed and food intake altered, people with diabetes often find they need less – or no – insulin to regulate blood sugar. In addition, high blood pressure and other related conditions can also be alleviated once weight is brought under control.

Bariatric surgery can have fast and lasting impacts on diet, weight, and health. Before considering this type of surgery, be sure to locate an experienced physician that takes a patient-by-patient approach to produce the best possible, longest-lasting results.