Are you a candidate for weight loss surgery?
Not everyone that wants it, qualifies for weight loss surgery. There are a few parameters involved whether it be gastric bypass surgery or whatever kind of weight loss surgery you are looking into. Let’s go over some of the qualifications for the surgery.
- You weigh 100 pounds or more over what is acceptable for your ideal body weight.
- Your body mass index exceeds 40.
- Your body mass index exceeds 35 and you have been diagnosed with severe health issues that are because of being overweight like high blood pressure, and diabetes.
- You are not able to get down to a healthy body weight and maintain it, even after medically supervised dieting.
If even one of the above qualifications fits you, you may be a candidate for weight loss surgery. After you have been pre qualified, a health team will look into the following:
Nutrition and weight history such as weight trends, attempted (and failed) diets, eating habits, exercise, amount of stress in your life, time factors, as well as other contributors will be assessed.
Medical Condition will also be looked at. There are health issues that would increase the risks involved with having surgery.
Your mental state could also be affected the obesity and therefore make it difficult for you to keep up with the health benefits after a surgery like bariatric surgery. Eating disorders, substance abuse, anxiety or panic attacks and depression will all be taken into consideration to ensure benefits remain after surgery.
Motivation is a big factor for this. You must be willing and able to adhere to the recommendations that your health team will make.
You age will be considered although there is no age limit for the surgery. However, the older you are, the more risks are involved. Anyone below 18 years of age is still a controversial issue.
The gastric lap band is not a quick and easy fix. This is something that is a life long venture to upkeep. The surgery actually changes the way your stomach and small intestine handle the food that you eat. It makes your stomach physically smaller and you will be able to get full with less food.However, habits need to be changed. If you are used to eating a lot of food, there is a chance you may want to still do that because of the habit but it is imperative to listen to the advice of your health care team and make you abide by the rules of weight loss surgery.