What is a Weight Loss Surgery?
Obesity has become more and more prevalent throughout the world and many men and women are considering bariatric surgery, also known as weight loss surgery, as a solution to their weight gain.
Weight loss surgery may appear to be a simple answer to the obesity problems people have, but it is not something that can, or should, be entered into lightly. Not everyone will qualify for weight loss surgery. You should be at least 100 pounds overweight and you will have to undergo extensive tests, both physical and mental, in order to quality.
Weight loss surgery was first discovered as a result of surgery on cancer and ulcer patients who had to have large parts of their stomachs or small intestines removed. It was noted that some of these patients lost weight after these surgeries. Over 40 years ago, doctors began performing these types of surgeries specifically for the purpose of weight loss.
When we eat, our food travels down the approximately 20 feet of our small intestine, where most of the calories and nutrients from our food are absorbed. What isn't absorbed moves on to our large intestine and eventually gets eliminated.
The two forms of weight loss surgery are malabsorptive surgery, which restricts the absorption of nutrients that your small intestine can absorb, and restrictive surgery, which reduces the size of your stomach so you eat less. Some procedures do a combination of both types of surgery.