Exceptional Obesity in Young Weight Loss Surgery Patients
You may be surprised to learn that obesity doesn’t strike just one type of person. Obesity strikes, men, women, old, middle age, and children. Among the young weight loss surgery patients, there seems to be a large number of excessively obese individuals. Approximately 40 percent of those that are obese under the age of 25 years are considered to be super obese individuals. This translates into an obvious failure in many ways of the attempts having been made to reduce obesity in young people.
More Surgery Patients and Higher Obesity Numbers
Studies are showing that not only are there more people overall having weight loss surgery (bariatric surgery statistics), but there are more young people and these people are exceptionally obese. In fact, there are so many individuals having weight loss surgery in the UK that the numbers could be financially crippling to the NHS, the health care system that manages the health care of the UK. These surgeries are typically paid for by the NHS.
Increase in Individuals Having Surgery
The National Bariatric Surgery Registry in the UK shows that in more than 137 UK hospitals more than 18,000 weight loss surgeries have been performed from 2010 to 2013. This includes 9,526 gastric bypass surgeries, 3,797 sleeve gastrectomy surgeries, and 4,705 gastric band surgeries. The reason that the NHS backs these surgeries is to help improve the lives of individuals that are obese and have tried other means of reducing their weight, without success.
Excessively Obese Young Patients
The research further reveals that from 2010 to 2013 approximately 550 individuals under the age of 25 years participated in some kind of bariatric surgery. There were 62 individuals in this group under the age of 18. Approximately 40% of these overweight young people were considered to be super obese having a body mass index (BMI) of more than 50). These numbers also showed that the number of young men being affected by excessive obesity has increased from 16% in 2006 to 26% in 2013.
The patients participating in the analysis showed that the average of these patients was double overweight, meaning that they were twice the weight that they should be when their height is considered. Most of them had an average BMI of 48.8. This number is beyond excessive and when combined with the fact that the excess weight can carry with them obesity-related health issues such as type 2 diabetes, it is easy to see how serious the issue could be.
Good News
All of this information shows that the efforts being made to improve obesity in young adults are not working very well. This said, there is good news about the results of the weight loss surgeries on these super-obese individuals. The numbers reflect that patients having surgery have an average weight loss of approximately 60% of their excess body weight one year after the gastric sleeve operation. Additionally, individuals that previously showed obesity-related type 2 diabetes had no symptoms one year after the surgery.
Financial Burden on NHS
While weight loss surgery clearly benefits those in need, the large number of individuals and severe cases faced, obesity threatens to bankrupt the NHS of the UK. The treatment bill is set to rise to $31 bn per year in 2025 from $19 bn in 2014. It is indisputable that reducing the obesity rate in the communities also means reducing connected obesity-related health issues such as type 2 diabetes. This said the cost of the surgeries for the NHS can be overwhelming with the rapidly rising number of surgeries being performed. The surgeries are considered to be safe, effective, and long-lasting. This means that the individuals are able to get the very most out of the surgery and work toward a healthier future.