‘Weight-loss surgery is only half the battle’- Jane E. Brody, International Herald Tribune, 18/09/08
This weeks’ health and science section of the International Tribune included an article about the difficulties of weight maintenance of people who had had gastric bypass surgery. Many people, including I, would have thought having surgery is an instant cure for obesity, but the article explains that in fact, not only strict rules of diet and exercise applies afterwards, but many people find it difficult to maintain their weight and actually put back some of the weight they had lost.
Dr Philip Schauer, bariatric surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic and past president of the bariatric society,says “Up to 15 percent lose a lot of weight initially, then gain weight back. The difference between a great result and a good result is aftercare.”
“Patients do best,” he continued, “when they participate in a program that provides continuing education, psychological counseling, diet and nutrition support. Exercise matters absolutely. One of the best predictors of success is the degree to which the individual has a regular exercise program.”
There are various types of operation. They reduce the amount people can consume at a given time and the amount of digested food they can absorb, by creating a much smaller stomach and bypassing part of the small intestine.
Some facts from the article:
- about 15 million Americans are morbidly obese, with a BMI of 40 or more
-last year, about 205,000 people underwent surgery to help them lose 100 or more pounds that they have been unable to shed and keep off any other way (estimated by the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery)
These figures are huge!
A reason why many patients find it difficult to maintain their weight after surgery is because operations do not cure underlying psychological problems that prompt them to overeat or eat the most fattening foods.
My immediate impression after reading the article was sympathy for the patients.
The article features interviews of three women who had had the surgery, and of a doctor and combines it with facts and figures to give an insight and understanding into the difficulties that the patients face.
This article was placed at the bottom left corner of the health and science section of the newspaper.The front cover of the newspaper runs a secondary lead for another article in the Health and Science section, which will lead some readers to the page. Although the article I am discussing does not contain any images, it took a large enough space of the page to be noticed. Though the narrow article next to it including an image and bold sub-headlines looks easier to read, this article would catch the interest of many people, since many people will be familiar with reading articles on obesity. The article provides these people with a better understanding about having surgery, as well as acting as a warning to people considering to take the surgery; the article ends with a quote from a patient ‘…if you don’t know why you’re eating, you shouldn’t do the surgery.’
Seriousness of the article is conveyed by the fact that it does not contain any images, and that it includes a clip from the main copy highlighted in bold in the middle of the article, reading ‘An operation does not cure underlying psychological factors that prompt many people to overeat.’, as if calling over a stern warning to readers.
