Help For Obese Children
Irish Times, 15th March 2010
David Ludwig is a director of the obesity programme at Children’s Hospital Boston. He says he was against the weight-loss surgery for the young patients. The reason for that was that he was ignoring the problem. He has, however, changed his mind.
From 1980 the number of obese children in the USA increased by three times. Obesity causes serious health problems such as sleep apnea, diabetes and heart disease.
To avoid these, Ludwig thinks regulations should let young patients undergo weight-loss procedures. These consist mainly on making a stomach smaller which limits the amount of food consumed by a patient.
Christine Ren-Fielding, a surgeon from New York University, also thinks that gastric banding should be allowed from the age of 14.
Both Ren-Fielding and Ludwig say the long-term aim is to change children’s life style – remove junk food from their diet, improve school lunches and physical education. Before it happens, though, both doctors think the surgery is going to be necessary.
Researches show that children who undergo weight-loss procedure lose 11 times more weight than those who only change diet and exercise.
More than 220,000 Americans underwent weight-loss procedures in 2009. When compared to year 1999, when 28,000 operations were carried out, the increase is huge.
The surgeons warn though, that weight-loss procedure is only a tool, not a cure. Patients do have to realize that the change of life-style after the surgery is a must. If they don’t follow the new healthy diet and physical activity, they’ll gain the pre-operational weight.
