Bariatric weight loss through surgery is recommended by the U.S. National Institutes of Health for obese people with body mass index factor BMI at 40 and above. But does the recommendation also include young obese adolescents below 18 years?
50 percent of primary care physicians do not recommend this beneficial surgery for young children according to a research study published in May 2010 issue of the journal Obesity Surgery.
Is Bariatric Weight Loss through Surgery Risky?
- Obesity in children has dramatically increased in the United States in the last 40 years reaching epidemic proportions in recent times.
- The youth of extremely obese adolescents is generally quite difficult socially and emotionally because of the stigma attached with the physical state.
- The children suffering from this physical disorder are also at the risk of developing non-alcoholic steotohepatitis, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea, choleolithiasis and early death on reaching adulthood.
- This surgery is found to be effective in reducing these risks to quite an extent.
- But the associated complications can be kept to bare minimum only when the surgery is done by experienced doctors.
According to the director of the Pediatric Comprehensive Weight Management Center at the University of Michigan, the long-term effects of this surgery on young people is not known sufficiently by the medical fraternity.
- Some of the questions which remain to be answered are the duration of the weight loss, chances of putting on the weight back, effects of the surgery on the mental health of the children.
- The doctors can still propose the surgical option to the parents of obese young patients as their are considerable number of studies supporting it.
Conclusion: Awareness on the benefits and risks of bariatric weight loss through surgery among primary care physicians is imperative as more number of parents of obese children are planning to opt it.
They would be requiring credible affirmations about the consequences of this surgery. Attitude of the doctors on this subject will influence the decision of these parents in a big way.
