Medical experts today understand that the underlying cause of many health problems is excess weight. According to Mills-Peninsula surgeon Pamela Foster, M.D., weight loss surgery is one tool that can be used to treat these sometimes serious conditions, which include type 2 diabetes, hypertension and sleep apnea. It’s also an area of medicine which is making progress due to advances in surgical procedures, she says.
In this video segment from Healthpoint TV, Dr. Foster explains who might be a typical candidate for weight loss surgery and some of the most common and innovative procedures available.
Exercise is a vital component of any weight loss program. If you are overweight or recovering from injury or surgery, you should begin a fitness routine slowly and consult your doctor first, advises Brooke Benjamin, Mills-Peninsula exercise physiologist.
In this video segment from Healthpoint TV, she demonstrates a beginner’s workout with exercise bands to increase strength and coordination.
Richard and Kathy Gingras collectively lost 200 pounds after having weight loss surgery at Mills-Peninsula. Kathy calls the surgery the best choice she ever made — she feels invigorated and can keep up with her new grandchild. Richard’s doctors told him he would not have survived cardiac arrest two years ago if he hadn’t lost the weight.
“I looked at my children and my wife, and I knew they were more important…than a slice of pizza or that extra scoop of ice cream. I was willing to make the changes because I want to live,” he says in this video segment from Healthpoint TV.
“We look at the type of food people eat, how often they eat and the amount of food they consume to create an individualized program,” he says in this video segment from Healthpoint TV.
For some people, weight loss surgery – or bariatric surgery – can be an effective tool to reduce the amount of food people eat by reshaping the stomach. Today’s minimally invasive surgical techniques can shorten recovery time and get people back to normal activities quicker. In this video, Dr. Wetter describes two types of weight loss surgery – Lap-Band and Roux-en-Y.
· A family history of diabetes
· High blood pressure
· High cholesterol· A diagnosis of pre-diabetes
Or are you overweight?
Any of the items listed above put you at a higher risk for diabetes. The good news is – research shows that lifestyle changes can reverse pre-diabetes.
“Losing a hundred pounds is like getting your life back,” says Kenneth A. Plough II.
A high school teacher and competitive swimmer, Plough opted to undergo weight loss (bariatric) surgery, seven years ago.
At 5 foot, 7 inches tall, Plough’s weight had ballooned to 315 pounds. He suffered from type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, constant pain from a herniated disc and bouts of asthma.
Within 18 months after the operation, Plough lost one-third of his body weight plus all his medical issues.
“Life is much easier than it was 100 pounds ago,” says Plough.
“But even if I wasn’t swimming competitively, just to have lost the weight, not have to wear a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) device at night, worry about diabetes, or live with that pain in my joints, it was worth it.”
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