Gastric Bypass and Weight Loss Surgery | Gastric Banding System – Health Risks

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Dangers of obesity

Since the mid-seventies, the prevalence of overweight and obese individuals has increased sharply for both adults and children. Data from two NHANES surveys shows that among adults aged 20–74 years the prevalence of obesity increased from 15.0% (in the 1976–1980 survey) to 32.9% (in the 2003–2004 survey).

The two surveys also show increases in overweight children and teens. For children ages 2–5 years, the prevalence of overweight children increased from 5.0% to 13.9%; for those aged 6–11 years, prevalence increased from 6.5% to 18.8%; and for those aged 12–19 years, prevalence increased from 5.0% to 17.4%.

These increasing rates raise concern because of their implications for Americans’ health. Being overweight or obese increases the risk of many diseases and health conditions, including the following:

• Hypertension

• Dyslipidemia (for example, high total cholesterol or high levels of triglycerides)

• Type 2 diabetes

• Coronary heart disease

• Stroke

• Gallbladder disease

• Osteoarthritis

• Sleep apnea and respiratory problems

• Some cancers (endometrial, breast, and colon)

• Although one of the national health objectives for the year 2010 is to reduce the prevalence of obesity among adults to less than 15%, current data indicate that the situation is worsening rather than improving.

Source: US Centers for Disease Control

Weight Loss Surgery such as gastric bypass surgery can save you money in the long term.

Pharmaceutical savings after weight loss surgery:

BACKGROUND: Clinically severe obesity (CSO) is a surgically treatable disease.The Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGBP), which uses an adjustable gastric band has been used to treat patients with CSO and has resulted in an improvement in co-morbidities. We speculated that after a period of weight loss, patients would require less medication, and eat less amounts of food, resulting in cost-savings to both the patient and the insurance company, as well as an overall gain in health. METHOD: A retrospective study was performed which involved the first 100 patients who had undergone RYGBP at a community-teaching hospital. Analysis of the data was conducted by the Wilcoxon signed rank test. RESULTS: 64 patients met our inclusion criteria and had adequate follow-up data available. The average monthly medication expenditure was reduced from US dollars 317 (preoperatively, to US dollars 135 CONCLUSION: Weight loss after RYGBP leads to a significant reduction in medication expenses. These medication savings offset the costs of the initial lap band procedure and represent permanent financial savings for the patient and society.

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