Frankfort, KY (January 25, 2008) ' It's the New Year, and it seems like everybody's hitting the gym or trying to eat better. In the past two decades, the number of Americans who are at least 100 pounds above their recommended weight, or with a Body Mass Index of 40 or greater, has quadrupled, to 1 in 50 (about 15 million). With obesity on the rise, many Americans are turning to weight loss surgery that reduces the size of the stomach to limit how much food can be eaten. Last year, 170,000 Americans had a weight-loss operation, according to the American Society for Bariatric Surgery ' more than double the number performed in 2000.
Recognizing chronic obesity as a growing health concern, Frankfort Regional Medical Center is offering free monthly community seminars on weight loss surgery through the gastric bypass surgical procedure.
'Weight loss surgery is a serious commitment, but for those who are morbidly obese and willing to make a complete lifestyle change, it can be the catalyst for living a healthier life,' said Dr. Michael Harkabus with Frankfort Regional Medical Center's Surgical Weight Loss Program.
In the surgery, known as the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, Dr. Harkabus bypasses a large portion of the stomach and a short portion of the small intestine.
'The reduction in the size of the stomach limits how much food a person can comfortably eat, usually about a cup per meal,' said Dr. Harkabus. 'Since the surgery is irreversible, patients have to learn to make the most of the calories they take in to ensure they get the nutrients they need.'
Dr. Harkabus explains that candidates for weight loss surgery must be more than 100 pounds overweight, have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of over 40, or a BMI of 35 and severe negative health effects related to being overweight and be unable to achieve a healthy body weight for a sustained period of time, even through medically supervised dieting.
'Many patients begin seeing results within weeks of the surgery and frequently lose 50 percent or more excess body weight,' Dr. Harkabus said. 'The measure of success is maintaining the weight loss at least five years, but what matters most is that patients develop a healthy lifestyle to sustain them through the years.'