If you are considering weight loss surgey read this first…

We keep hearing again and again in the media that the obesity crisis in the UK has reached its highest levels yet – with around 1 in every 4 adults estimated to now be considered “obese”.

The NHS describes anyone affected by this disease as anyone who is very overweight with a high percentage of body fat. The health risks to people suffering this illness are enormous – and often people resort to extreme measures in desperation to avoid these risks.

One of the more popular of these dangerous measures is the option to undergo weight loss surgery.  The NHS will consider you for the procedure in extreme cases, or there are increasingly available opportunities to go private.

The surgery promises rapid and permanent weight loss results – resulting in a complete bodily transformation. Does it sound too good to be true? No months of dieting or plodding along on a treadmill with only incremental changes in weight?

To many, this will seem like a highly attractive solution to their issues, but take a moment to consider the following…

The risk of having such an invasive surgery is enormous. To undergo anaesthetic alone poses a significant threat to your health – a threat which is amplified in an overweight patient. Then come the potential dangers during surgery – many of which can prove fatal – for instance internal bleeding, blood clots and then post-surgery infection. Pretty scary stuff!

Then comes the recovery phase. For most types of weight loss surgery, it will take 6 whole weeks of down time to get you back up and running, which is a sizeable chunk of time. During this period, you can reintroduce small amounts of textured food, but will predominantly remain on a strictly controlled, low-calorie diet. Sounds awesome…
And then finally, you have your end product.

The weight will rapidly fall off and you will notice a dramatic change in size, which I’m sure you’re thinking, is the point of it all right? The reality is low energy levels (a fun consequence of your low-calorie diet), a huge amount of loose, excess skin left behind and finally – the all-important stretch marks (a by-product from where your skin has spent years over stretched and has lost the elasticity to keep up with your rapidly retreating body fat).

To many who struggle with their weight, this quick fix can seem like the ideal way to solve all weight-related problems. But do the benefits really outweigh the negatives? There are many more natural and sympathetic ways of helping your body become healthier and happier.

No amount of surgery can teach you the benefit of good, nutritious diet enjoyed in a balance with exercise. No amount of chopping out parts of your digestive tract will help you form good, healthy and sustainable habits.

Do your body a favour – and always consider your options.