Surgical treatment for obesity: ensuring success.
In the United States, obesity has reached epidemic proportions. Serious medical complications, impaired quality of life, and premature mortality are all associated with obesity. Medical conditions such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, or sleep apnea can improve or be cured with weight loss. Medical treatment programs focused on diet, behavior modification, and/or pharmacologic intervention have met with limited long-term success. Although surgical treatments for obesity have become popular in recent years, they should only be used as a last resort for weight loss. Not all patients can be considered appropriate candidates for surgery; therefore, guidelines based on criteria from the National Institutes of Health should be used preoperatively to help identify suitable persons. Most individuals who opt for weight-loss surgery have usually struggled for many years with losing weight and keeping it off, but surgery alone will not ensure successful weight loss. Patient education is imperative for long-term success. Moreover, any such educational regimen should include information on diet, vitamin and mineral supplementation, and lifestyle changes, as well as expected weight-loss results and improvements in comorbid conditions. Patients must be willing to commit to a long-term follow-up program intended to promote successful weight loss and weight maintenance and to prevent metabolic and nutritional complications.
Andris
Deborah A
DA
Medical College of Wisconsin, Department of Surgery, USA.
D000359:Aftercare; D052938:Bariatric Medicine / Q000379:methods; D050110:Bariatric Surgery / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods* / Q000401:mortality / Q000451:nursing; D001521:Behavior Therapy; D015992:Body Mass Index; D015897:Comorbidity; D005081:Exercise Therapy; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009767:Obesity, Morbid / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000601:surgery*; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology; D010348:Patient Care Team; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D018579:Patient Selection; D019990:Perioperative Care / Q000379:methods / Q000451:nursing; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011788:Quality of Life; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D015431:Weight Loss