Calgary Herald, 23rd February 2009

People who are desperate to lose weight try a number of solutions in belief they will help. The solution, though, is as simple as tough – they only way to lose weigh is to burn off more calories than you take in.

Unfortunately, according to the Canadian Medical Association, many people are tempted by quick weight-loss programs offering herbal products, cleanses and other drugs promising quick back to shape. Those products promise speeding up metabolism and stopping the appetite, seem like a miraculous solution to the problem.

Unfortunately, those products are not only useless but, what’s more, death cases were recorded after using ultra-low calorie diet with those drugs.

Dr. Arya Sharma from the University of Alberta says the reason people use such products is because the labels promise exactly what they want: boost the metabolism, cleans the body, no side effects and no need for physical activity. “Believe me, if such a product existed, I’d be the first to prescribe it to my patients.” Dr. Sharma says.

Dr. Sharma and other weight-loss surgeons admit that weight-loss procedures let patients lose only about 30% of their body. Results, however, can be much better if a patient changes a lifestyle and diet. Patients who are to undergo a weight-loss operation are informed about the risks of the surgery and how their life will be different afterwards. Changing eating habits and physical activity is a must which can lead to a healthy new life.

Losing weight is not an easy task; it requires lots of effort and commitment. Dr. Sharma advices to mistrust “any product that claims to cause weight loss of two pounds or more a week for a month or more without dieting or exercise; cause substantial weight loss no matter what or how you eat; cause permanent weight loss (even when you stop using the product) and safely enable consumers to lose more than three pounds per week for more than four weeks; cause substantial weight loss for all users; cause substantial weight loss by wearing it on the body or rubbing it into the skin.”

If it sounds too good to be true, it is not. Better than spending money on those products, spend them in a gym and healthy food.

Medical News Today, 16th February 2009

Not every weight-loss procedure can be covered by insurance. Medicare and Medicaid Services have just clarified only batriatic surgery which cures patients with type 2 diabetes will be covered.

Medicare explains the decision by type 2 diabetes being one of the most common reasons of pre-mature deaths. In this case, weight-loss operation is very often a life-saving procedure. Morbidly obese patients have body mass index (BMI) of 35 or more. Normal BMI is between 18.5 and 25.

“Medicare beneficiaries who are morbidly obese may face tremendous health complications,” said CMS Acting Administrator Charlene Frizzera. “Today’s coverage decision assures that beneficiaries who are morbidly obese can access safe, effective weight loss options to help prevent these complications.”

The decision means that Medicare will not cover procedures for patients with a BMI below 35, even though researches show that weight-loss surgery is helpful for these patients. Medicare, though, did not find those findings convincing.

Batriatic surgery for Medicare beneficiaries has been expanded in 2006. It covered Pptients who received surgery from highly-qualified surgeons. In order to qualify for a weight-loss surgery covered by Medicare, these patients’ BMI had to be 35 or more and they had to experience serious health problems because of their obesity.
Four types of weight-loss surgery are covered: gastric bypass, open and laparoscopic Roux-en Y gastric bypass, laparoscopic gastric banding and open and laparoscopic biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch.

Private Healthcare UK, 7th February 2009

For some patients weight-loss surgery is a life-saving procedure. Not everyone can lose weight by changing diet and exercising. What’s sure, though, all patients who went under the knife, have to change their lifestyle if they want to stay in shape.

The latest studies show that only those patients can enjoy improved lives.

200 patients took part in the research at the Miriam Hospital’s Centres for Behavioural and Preventive Medicine. All patients underwent a weight-loss surgery.

There were two groups of patients: active patients did at least 3 hours of physical activity a week. They were moderate activities such as walking and jogging.

Those patients, as researches show, lost even more weight than only after the surgery. The majority of patients in this group, who started to be active at least a year after the surgery, lost an extra stone. They also managed to reduce their BMI (body mass index) by two points.

What’s more, they reported improved general health, more energy and lack of depression.

“Bariatric surgery is quickly emerging as a standard treatment for severe obesity, although weight loss outcomes vary.” Dr Dale Bond of The Miriam Hospital’s Centres said. He also added that physical activity helps weight-loss and improves general quality of life.

New York Times, 2 February 2009

Women in their menopause usually find it hard to control their weight. In the same time, some of them start having incontinence problems. Obesity and urine leaks appear to be related, as the new reports show.

In the research 338 overweight and obese women with incontinence problems took part. 226 of them went through a weight-loss programme. The programme included exercise, diet and information about healthy lifestyle. After the programme the patients reported half as many leakage episodes as before.

The other group contained 112 overweight women who did not participate in the weight-loss programme. They took part in educational sessions about weight-loss, healthy eating and physical activity.

A 47% reduction in the incontinence reported the women who lost 17 pounds or more after six months. Women in the other group lost about 3 pounds and experienced only a 28% less urine leakage.

Losing weight not only helps with the incontinence problems but also improves blood pressure, cholesterol, sleep and libido.

Dr. Leslee L. Subak, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of California, says “Weight loss should be a first-line recommendation for urinary incontinence�.

Further researches show that women suffering from incontinence who had a weight-loss surgery or underwent a low-calorie liquid diet, experience less urine leakage.

“A number of my patients will come in, and if you ask when their incontinence started getting worse, they will say, ‘Well, I guess it was about the time I started gaining weight,’ � said Dr. Elaine Waetjen, a professor of gynecology at University of California, who studies incontinence.