A Losing weight is not easy and keeping it off is harder still. If it was easy we would all be a healthy weight for our height. The sad fact is that many people consume more calories than they use and so their weight increases. Small differences over a long period of time make a big difference.
Two extra chocolate biscuits a day for one year will add 61,000 extra calories. That is about 19lb extra in weight!
One of the treatment options is known as bariatric surgery. This involves surgically making the stomach smaller using a variety of techniques or creating a situation where the food you eat is not absorbed properly.
The operation is usually done using keyhole surgery but, like all surgery, there can be side effects.
This surgery is only available for the grossly obese with a BMI over 40 or those with a BMI over 35 with other significant medical problems like severe diabetes.
BMI is a measure of your level of obesity and you need to know your height and weight to work it out.
Who should be referred?
Those who have failed every diet and have been properly assessed and intensively managed at a specialist hospital obesity clinic.
The operation is only now becoming available. It is no substitute for sensible eating which must be continued after surgery, otherwise the operation will fail.
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