Topic: weight-loss surgery

Weight-Loss Surgery Doesn’t Cut Health Care Costs For Formerly Obese

One of the arguments for expanding insurance coverage of weight loss surgery is that despite the surgery’s upfront costs, it saves patients (and the insurance system) money in the long run by mitigating the negative health effects of obesity. But according to a new study published in JAMA Surgery: Not so. Obese patients who got bariatric surgery continued to have similar—or even slightly higher—health care costs than counterparts who didn’t have the bariatric procedure. More »

Pregnancy After Weight Loss Surgery Should Be Avoided For 1 Year

Had weight loss surgery this year and are looking to get pregnant? Read this first. More »

Al Roker Markets Weight Loss Memoir With Story About Pooping His Pants At The White House

Al Roker has probably been all over your TV talking about his new book, “Never Goin’ Back: My Weight Loss Journey.” And in the past 24 hours, he has splashed all over our internets, thanks to the now infamous story of how he pooped his pants at the White House, as told in a Dateline interview that aired Sunday night. And you know what? This might actually be the smartest marketing strategy we’ve ever seen for a book about weight loss. More »

30 by 30: Why I Refuse To Get Weight Loss Surgery In Mexico

Thanksgiving was the first time I my mom’s cousin after she got weight loss surgery in Mexico. When I commented on how thin she was, she transformed into a bad infomercial: “You can be thin too! Just take $5,000 to Mexico. They’ll cut your stomach in half and you’ll be good to go.” Yup–it’s just that easy. A quick flight below the border, an illegal surgery and my nonexistent life savings to be supermodel thin… If only. More »

World’s Fattest Man Loses 650 Pounds, Costing Taxpayers $1.6 Million: Right Or Wrong?

Yesterday was a day of celebration for Paul Mason, the British man who used to be called “The world’s fattest man.” After years of struggling with his weight, Mason has now dropped nearly 650 pounds. It’s an amazing success story, but one that has cost taxpayers $1.6 million, according to Fox News. And now he’s suing for more money. More »

Gain Fat, Lose Weight? Brown Fat Transplant Could Promote Weight Loss

Brown fat — the type of fatty tissue that mammals use to generate heat — can help our bodies burn fat calories more quickly and efficiently, but it’s only present in adult mammals in very small amounts. Doctors have been hoping for a while now that injecting brown fat cells into obese people could help them lose weight. In a new animal study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers found that it did just that. More »

Feeling Lazy? New Weight Loss Surgery Is Perfect Excuse To Skip Exercise

Good news if you’re tired of all those boring salads and hours on the elliptical. Just in time for the much-hyped bikini season, there is a new surgical weight-loss procedure just for women who want to drop 25 to 50 pounds. If it sounds too good to be true, it’s not. Although it has all the makings for a dangerous new trend for people who don’t want to lose weight through a healthy diet and exercise. More »

Carnie Wilson Had Another Weight Loss Surgery–This Time, She Chose Lap Band

In 1999, Wilson-Phillips member Carnie Wilson went from being “the overweight one who hides behind the other ones” to “inspiration,” when she made the bold decision to undergo gastric bypass surgery–and broadcast it over the internet. Now, over a decade later, People is reporting that Wilson has had a second weight loss surgery. This time, she says, she tried the controversial lap band procedure, instead–which can have long-term complications, and not-great results. More »

True Story: “Gastric Bypass Saved My Life”

This is Jim and his daughter, both before and after his decision to undergo gastric bypass surgery. A decision, Jim said, he always thought was “the loser way out”–until he realized that, to live a long, healthy life, he had to make. Now, Jim says, he can’t believe he waited so long to do it. And he was kind enough to share his very personal story with us because, he says, “I want everyone else to know that this is something you can do.” More »

What We're Reading:

1-800-GET-THIN or 1-800-GET-DEAD? Weight Loss Clinic Charged With Causing 5 Deaths

The weight-loss clinics in Southern California who are famous for their 1-800-GET-THIN ads are now famous for something else: wrongful deaths. The surgical centers are under fire for the the death of five patients, and we’re betting it won’t stop there. More »

Say What? Woman Tries To Gain Weight To Qualify For Weight-Loss Surgery

Desperate to get healthy, some people will try anything to lose weight, but this one tops our list: gaining weight to qualify for weight-loss surgery.

The Today show just reported on one woman, Steffany Sears, who, at 202 pounds was not overweight enough for her insurance company to cover the $20,000 Lap-Band procedure. So she set out to change that–by gorging on chips and cookies, pizza and fried chicken in order to gain enough weight so she could get the surgery. More »

Diet And Exercise Can’t Help The Obese, Say Researchers

A new study conducted by Australian researchers says its all but useless for obese individuals to keep off weight the old-fashioned way—and that’s why we should look to gastric bypass surgery as a more common solution. More »

Gallery: 7 Weird Weight Loss Scams We Hope You Never Buy

A few months ago we mentioned a new weight loss surgery that people are experimenting with in 2011 that involves a tongue patch. It doesn’t alter the food you eat, it doesn’t change your food choices, and it doesn’t release any kind of metabolism-boosting agents. All it does is make it incredibly difficult to eat, painful almost, thereby forcing weight-loss upon you. Is anyone else horrified by this? Why are we constantly looking for quick-fixes to weight loss that are in no way sustainable long-term? Weight-loss means a complete lifestyle overhaul, not something you do for a bit, only to discard later. Recipe for failure? Throughout modern history, there have been a zillion stupid weight loss fixes we’ve indulged in to fight the bulge. Did any of them work for longer than, say, a nanosecond? You be the judge. More »

Study Says Liposuction Is Temporary, But Body Confidence Lasts Forever

Actress Camryn Manheim (The Practice) had a one-woman show called “Wake Up! I’m Fat!”, a title I’ve always loved. It’s not that I think people should start eating pizza and cakes in record numbers; I just love the sentiment that, hey, guess what, we’re not robots or fitness models. We’re human, we’re flawed, and sometimes we gain weight. We’re not oblivious to our imperfections. We’re dealing with them. We know when we’re past the point of healthy and we’re doing the best we can, but laying more insecurity and shame on our bodies is the last thing we need. If only the women in this liposuction study could have seen Manheim’s one-woman show, because it seems all they want to hear is “thinspirational” notions, rather than the facts: liposuction is a temporary form of weight-loss, and the fat comes back.
More »

Click for more posts