DocGuide News reported on a study from the medical journal Lancet. The subject? Surgery for morbidly obese children.
The first question one might ask would be, how big is the problem?
Data up to 2006 show that prevalence of childhood obesity doubled or trebled between the early 1970s and late 1990s in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Japan, the UK, and the US.
The problem of obesity in children is a huge one. Not only do obese children suffer the effects of obesity while growing up, but they have increased risks of obesity related problems — like diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and bone and joint problems.
Since they are exposed to these risk factors for more years of their lives, they are likely to have more severe symptoms and decreased life expectancy.
So what should be done?
Lifestyle interventions such as diet and exercise should always be first-line therapy, with drug treatment used rarely and weight-loss surgery a last resort.
What they call lifestyle interventions — what the rest of us call eating proper meals and getting a normal healthy amount of exercise — should be tried first. No argument there.
Weight-loss surgery should only be used in the most severely obese of children, and only then with extreme caution…
But what of this recommendation, that weight-loss surgery should only be used in the most severely obese? The real question is, why should it ever be considered at all?
With proper nutrition and activity, obesity can always be controlled. This is true even in those individuals that are genetically predisposed to obesity.
Responsible parents can limit the amount of food available and the choice of food. And the child can be encouraged to get normal amounts of exercise.
Turning off the television and video games will go a long way.
It may take some doing, and it may take some changes in viewpoint. Losing weight can be difficult and it can be a struggle.
But stopping the snacking and gross overeating — which is always present in morbidly obese children — is not beyond the ability of the parents. Before it comes to surgery it is the only rational course of action to take.
http://www.docguide.com/news/content.nsf/news/852576140048867C8525771A0081D333
