CNN – Reports that the price of obesity is increasing at an alarming rate. Cost are escalating for the health care industry in order to manage the medical needs of those who are morbidly obese.
Learn more in this video
CNN – Reports of a new procedure called Transoral Gastroplasty or TOGA. This experimental new minimally invasive surgery is incision free and performed entirely through the mouth. It involves inserting a tube like apparatus through the mouth down the esophagus that staples the stomach to form a thumb-sized tube that holds only a small amount of food.
What makes the TOGA procedure so unique is that no incisions are required to perform this surgery. Transoral gastroplasty is part of a new generation of surgery that uses natural orifices, like the mouth, anus or vagina to perform surgery instead of cutting through the skin.
This video by Satiety Inc. shows how the procedure will work.
Over the past 3 years more than 100 people in Europe and Mexico have had the TOGA procedure performed with an average weight loss of 40 percent of their excess body fat after one year post operative.
The TOGA system for transoral gastroplasty is being developed by Satiety, Inc, a medical device company based in Palo Alto, California. The company is now conducting clinical trials and is hoping for FDA approval in the near future.
Research suggest that drinking water can help you lose weight. An abstract by Virginia Tech professor Dr. Brenda Davy, presented at last year’s obesity conference in Phoenix, Arizona, showed that people who drank two glasses of water 20 to 30 minutes before every meal lost more weight more quickly and lost significantly more weight than those who didn’t drink water.
Professor Davy, published another study last year in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, that found that people who drank water before meals ate an average of 75 fewer calories at that meal. This small caloric factor may not seem like much, however, if you ate 75 fewer calories at lunch and dinner for the next year, you could lose about 14½ pounds! Additionally, being even 1 percent dehydrated can cause a decrease in metabolism, which can also interfere with weight loss.
For some, it is very difficult for the body to differentiate hunger from thirst. If you don’t drink enough water throughout the day, you may mistake thirst for hunger and eat more than you really need to, which can also hinder weight loss. It is very important to stay well hydrated, particularly if you are trying to lose weight. It is important to eat lots of water-based foods like soups, vegetables and low-fat dairy, which are equally important for weight loss, as they lower the calorie density of meals. That can help you reduce calories without reducing portions.
It is important not to drink excessive amounts of water too soon (gallons and gallons). Which can cause a dangerous condition known as hyponatremia (low sodium levels in the blood). This condition can cause confusion, irritability and seizures and may even lead to a coma. However, people should be more concerned with not drinking enough water versus drinking too much.
According to a CNN health report, obesity can remove 2 to 4 years off the average lifespan of a person. Being very obese can shorten the lifespan by 8 to 10 years or more according to a new scientific study which included almost a million people.
Professor of global health, Ali Mokdad, Ph.D., at the University of Washington, states, “This is scary and something that we should pay close attention to. These new findings actually underestimate the true impact of obesity on society because they don’t address the costs of obesity-related illnesses and other factors.”
The original study was conducted by the eminent epidemiologist Sir Richard Peto of the University of Oxford. This study was conducted to figure out how exactly a body mass index (BMI) relates to mortality.
According to CNN, research and development into new non-invasive surgical techniques for the treatment of obesity have been successful. Some of these procedure use non-traditional surgical entries that limits scaring and recovery time. One such procedure performed at Puget Sound Surgical Center is called Stomaphyx. This procedure uses a device that is inserted down the throat, into the stomach pleating it, resulting in weight loss due to a smaller stomach/pouch size.
Other experimental procedures recently tested at Stanford University include entrance through the vaginal opening in women. This has the benefit of having direct access to the body cavity and it’s internal organs. Recover and pain associated with this method has been minimal with pain similar to menstrual cramps.
Weight-loss procedures using natural orifices are under way in many clinical trials. Their success could minimize risks encountered in standard bariatric surgery procedures. Contact Puget Sound Surgical Center and talk to one of our board certified surgeons about these new procedures.
CNN reports that infertility can be attributed to obesity in some women. Women that are overweight produces too much estrogen, this in turn affects other hormone levels within their bodies. This can cause Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) where there is not enough balance of hormones to stimulate and egg to full maturity.
This video is a repost of this report
CNN report on obese people who live in Alabama who are penalized on insurance premiums for being overweight. This plan was implemented as a means to motivate people to lose weight. However, some feel that this is nothing more than a fat tax.
This video is a rebroadcast of this report.
Bod Pod
For years now nutritionists and health care providers have relied heavily on using a technique that determined a person’s body fat based on height and weight. This system applied to both men and women. Unfortunately for many this system is not entirely accurate. It is equally important to know what kind of weight people carry as well. Are they a lean 225 lb or a flabby 180 lb or someone who is very thin and weighs 100 lb.
Body density testing really identifies how much a person is made up of actual fat and how much is lean mass, which includes muscle and bone. Many pro football players, if tested using the standard method for BMI, would show up as being obese or extremely overweight. We know of course this is not the case. So how do you accurately measure a person’s body composition? Some have used skin calipers to measure subcutaneous fat on specific spot of the body. Others have used hydrostatic weighing which is very hard to do.
One new method seems to offer the most accurate measurement of body composition which uses air displacement plethysmograph. This system developed by Life Measurement, Inc. is proving to be extremely accurate and easy to do. They call it the Bod Pod.
Some of the things this new device can measure are:
Accurate whole-body density measurement
Accurate measure for Thoracic Gas Volume (TGV)
Accurate measurement on fat and fat-free mass, Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR), and Total Energy Expenditures (TEE).
This test can be safely tested repeatably.
Is safe and non invasive.
Simple to use for the subject and operator, requires no special licenses.
It can be used with any subject type, including children, elderly, the obese and those with physical disabilities.
To learn more about Obesity and Body Mass Index Testing contact Puget Sound Surgical Center today.
CNN reports on interval walking and it’s healthy benefits for people wishing to lose weight.
This video is a rebroadcast of this report.
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