AMA Declares Obesity a Disease

Obesity is now a disease, declared by the American Medical Association this past June. A growing epidemic that effectively defines 78 million American adults and 12 million children as having a medical condition requiring treatment.

The nation’s leading physicians organization took the vote after debating whether the action would do more to help affected patients get useful treatment or would further hinder a condition with many causes and few easy fixes. The new designation follows a steep 30-year climb in Americans’ weight — growing public concern over the resulting increase of expensive health problems. Treatment of such obesity-related illnesses as cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and certain cancers drives up the nation’s medical bill by more than $150 billion a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The AMA’s decision essentially makes diagnosis and treatment of obesity a physician’s professional obligation. Studies have found that more than half of obese patients have never been told by a medical professional they need to lose weight — a result not only of some doctors’ hesitation to offend but of their unwillingness to offer a consultation where they fear will not be reimbursed.

For more information on Obesity and the American Medical Association, visit http://www.amednews.com

Support and Encouragement: Mary Ryan’s Story

Having fought the battle of morbid obesity for over thirty six years and at a time in my life where I was on cholesterol medication and on the verge of high blood pressure meds, I needed to make a change, a drastic change. After attending the seminar and learning about the gastric sleeve and its potential possibilities, I knew this would be a turning point to the rest of my life. It was and still is a journey that I never thought possible for myself. For the first time in my life, I feel “normal” in the way I eat and relate to food. Surgical Weight Control Center has great options that helped me transition into the “new” me.

I attended the Gastric Sleeve/Bypass support group about four times this past year. I found the group experience beneficial in that initially, after my surgery, it offered me a place to go where I could be with others who had the sleeve operation or were thinking about it. At the time, this was important for me because as a newly “sleeved” person I needed reassurance that I was doing what I was supposed to. Psychologically, I needed to be able to share and hear other people’s stories, hear how much weight they had lost, their process, the ups and downs and much more.

Following bariatric surgery, I feel it’s critical for people to be able to face and deal with the changes within themselves: physically, psychologically, socially and spiritually. Some people have a great support system at home or work while others are isolated and feel alone in the process. Many are not encouraged by those around them or are criticized and misunderstood for their surgical decision. Others felt insecure or guilty in that they might have taken the “easy” way out! However, nothing could be farther from the truth. These group meetings are a vehicle for mutual support as well as a place where the healing process of the “whole” person can be set in motion.

My advice to anyone seeking an interest in bariatric surgery is this: Make sure you’re truly “ready” to take the next step. The surgery is like a tool but the rest is truly up to you. Success will be yours if you follow the doctor’s orders and establish a firmly changed relationship with all things “food” in your life, especially your social life.