Obesity remains the common factor among many life-threatening illnesses including stroke, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, and sleep apnea. Many have no success with weight-loss plans based on healthy eating and exercise. This lack of success may be due to mobility issues or metabolism. Still others may need the health benefits of weight loss more quickly than is possible with dietary changes and exercise. For these significantly overweight people, Weight Loss Surgery Houston may be an option.
Candidates for bariatric surgery are thoroughly screened by physicians, such as those at the houston weight loss center. Weight loss surgery is an option for people with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 40 or greater. A BMI of 35 may make surgery an option if weight-related health issues are an issue. Typically, this standard means that men with 100 pounds of extra weight and women overweight by 80 pounds are candidates. The presence of sleep disorders, diabetes, and heart disease will qualify candidates who do not quite meet the weight standard for weight loss surgery. The serious nature of any weight loss surgery requires that candidates be prepared to make significant, permanent lifestyle changes.
Weight loss surgery typically works through restricting food intake, limiting absorption of food, or a mixture of the two techniques. With the restrictive technique, surgeons will either remove a portion of the stomach or constrain a portion of the stomach with a gastric band. Commonly known surgeries of this type include stomach stapling and lap band surgeries. The other type of surgery for weight loss involves limiting the amount of food absorbed by the intestines. Surgeons usually shorten the length of used intestine by altering the location of the small intestine that connects to the stomach. One of the most common types of weight loss surgery, gastric bypass, uses a mixture of the two types of techniques. All types of weight loss surgery ultimately result in lowered digestion of food, either by limiting the amount eaten or the amount digested.
Weight loss surgery is not fool-proof. Patients must adhere to dietary and exercise guidelines following surgery. These changes must be lifelong, and patients may endure unpleasant side-effects of surgery. However, given the life-threatening nature of diseases related to obesity, Weight Loss Surgery Houston proves to be life saving in many cases.
