Obesity is a growing national epidemic. About 64 million adults in the United States are obese, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Obesity can increase a person's risk of developing a number of chronic illnesses, including diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and stroke.
Severe obesity is a chronic condition and at times can be difficult to treat using diet and exercise alone. Gastrointestinal surgery, also known as bariatric surgery, can be an option for people who are severely obese and have repeatedly been unsuccessful losing weight through diet and exercise, or who suffer from serious obesity-related health problems. Experienced surgeons on the medical staff at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas offer surgical options for weight loss, including laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding and gastric bypass.
Bariatric surgery assists with weight loss by limiting the amount of food that can be eaten and in some cases by interrupting the digestive process. While the surgery is a key treatment component, long-term success is achieved when surgery is combined with healthy eating habits and regular physical activity. The National Institutes of Health published a consensus report on Gastrointestinal Surgery for Severe Obesity. The report states that gastric restrictive or bypass procedures are appropriate for motivated people and recommends that weight-loss surgery patients be managed medically before surgery, care be provided by a multi-disciplinary team, and patients are under life-long medical surveillance.
Only your physician can determine if you are a candidate for weight-loss surgery. For those individuals who qualify, Texas Health Dallas offers professional nursing staff educated in bariatric patient care, the support of nutritional services providing nutritional analysis and counseling, and a fitness center offering a bariatric exercise program.
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