Obesity is a health issue that is affecting teens today. For adults there is surgery which could control or even eliminate obesity. Obesity surgery in teens have successful outcomes as well.
Obesity surgery has been successful for teens. Torsten Olbers, associate professor of Surgery at the Sahlgrenska Academy as well as the senior consultant surgeon at Sahlgrenska University Hospital has said that teens who did not undergo obesity surgery have continued to gain weight as opposed to those who did. Olbers is also the lead author of the study, which has 81 teens undergo gastric bypass surgery.
For the study, a group of obese teens received traditional treatment for obesity while the other group had adults that went for bariatric surgery. The teens that underwent surgery were between the ages of 13 to 18 years old. The average BMI of the teens has been 45 kg./m2. Many of the teens who were obese already had complications associated with it, such as hypertension and elevated blood sugar levels.
Olbers has said that the teens who received surgery were severely obese. He has observed that teens who have been obese were so because of genetic predisposition, and it is not because of lifestyle. Teens who had surgery also weighed 28 percent less than they were before surgery, according to the Sahlgrenska Academy's site.
While the surgery has been successful, a number of those who had surgery had complications associated to major weight loss. This would include developing gallstones and bowel obstruction. The complications can be corrected by closing the mesenteric defects. Still, the procedure is considered a success since it has prevented obese teens from gaining back their weight.
Bariatric surgery involves having part of the small intestine removed, as Science Daily reports. The procedure only takes one hour. Part of the small intestine is then connected to the stomach. This would then have food go directly to the small intestine. Vitamin supplementation is necessary for those who have underwent the surgery, as reduced food intake could lead to less vitamins and minerals.
Obesity can be deadly, as its complications such as hypertension and heart disease can lead to life-threatening issues. Obesity surgery in teens have successful outcomes. A study has also found that gym membership is good for the health.
