Morbid obesity has been shown to have a significant genetic basis. To date, attempts to manage morbid obesity with medical weight reduction programs have failed.Morbid obesity has been shown to have a significant genetic basis. To date, attempts to manage morbid obesity with medical weight reduction programs have failed.


known commonly as Tummy-Tuck is a operational procedure to remove excess
associated with a significant increase in morbidity and a decreased life expectancy.
is a surgical specialty that focuses on abdominal organs.
What Is Obesity?
Today, Obesity is recognized
as a health problem of epidemic proportions. Obesity refers to a spectrum of excess weight problems
ranging from being mildly overweight to being morbidly obese. Patients with morbid obesity usually do not respond to
non-surgical means of weight loss. Efforts to treat morbid obesity through controlled diet, behavior modification, and
exercise programs are usually only temporarily successful. Obesity surgery is the only method by which long term and
permanent weight loss can be achieved in these patients.
Due to changing lifesyles, the incidence of childhood obesity is on the rise.
Patients who experience childhood obesity are more likely to develop obesity related complications
at an earlier age. If this problem is not addressed today, it is likely to compound and therefore
will impose heavily on medical resources.
Obesity is
an excess of total body fat, which results from caloric
intake that exceeds energy usage. A
measurement used to asses health risks of obesity is the Body Mass Index (BMI).
The American Obesity Association
reports that obese individuals have a 50-100% increased
risk of death as compared to normal weight individuals,
with 300,000 to 587,000 deaths each year. This substantial
increase in health risks has made obesity the SECOND
leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States.
What are Causes of Obesity?
Obesity is due to a combination of the following factors:
1. The genes you inherited from your
parents
2. How well your body turns food into energy
3. Your eating and exercising habits
4. Psychological factors
5. Your surroundings
What are the Complications of Obesity?
If you are obese, severely obese
or morbidly obese, you may have
1. A shorter life expectancy (50% to 100% increased risk
of dying prematurely)
2. Diabetes (Type 2)
3. Joint problems or arthritis
4. High blood pressure
5. Heart disease
6. Gall bladder problems
7. Certain types of cancer, such as breast, uterus, colon, kidney,
and gall bladder
8. Digestive disorders or reflux
9. Breathing difficulties
10. Urinary incontinence and problems with fertility
11. Psychological problems such as depression, negative
self-image, social isolation, etc.
In addition, you may experience difficulties with day-to-day
living. For example:
1. Normal tasks become harder when you are obese, as
movement is more difficult.
2. You tend to tire more quickly and you find yourself
short of breath.
3. Public transport seats or car may be too small for
you.
4. You may find it difficult to maintain personal hygiene.
What are the treatment options for obesity?
Dieting, exercise, and medication have long been regarded as the
conventional methods to achieve weight loss. Sometimes these efforts are successful in the short term.
However, for people who are morbidly obese, the results rarely last. The majority will continually gain
and lose weight, known as the "yo-yo syndrome", which leads to serious psychological and health
consequences. Recent studies have shown that conventional methods of weight loss generally do not produce
permanent weight loss in patients who are morbidly obese.
Surgical options
The following are the a few of the procedures that are practiced for the treatment of obesity.
1. Gastic Band Surgery or Stomach Banding
2. Sleeve Gastrectomy
3. Bilio-Pancreatic Diversion (BPD)
4. Gastric Bypass Procedure
5. Intragastric Balloon (BIB)