It’s interesting too how obsessed our current society is with weight alone. I was told by my GP that even though I’m overweight, because I play hockey a couple of times a week, take the dog for daily walks, and walk to work, I’m probably a lot healthier than many of my skinny friends who smoke and for whom exercise is a dirty word.

While some reports suggest that weight loss is more successfully maintained with gastric banding, the fact is that the health improvements initially gained from this, often drop off after 6-18 months – even when weight loss is maintained. Not to mention the numerous (and often permanent) medical complications that one is likely to be left with !

In my clinical experience I have seen patients who have had lap banding performed on them, despite having identified severe binge-eating disorder. Predictably significant weight gain has occurred, leading to the lap band needing to be loosened, however medical complications remain. For example one of my patients now vomits regularly, twice a week. This is not always due to overeating, and ironically, she is far more likely to vomit when she has eaten healthy food rather than highly processed, easily digestable foods. She also finds certain foods get ’stuck’ in her gut (such as lettuce) at unpredictable times, leading to immense discomfort. These are just some of the consequences of this surgery. Is *this* what we mean by ‘health’?

Not to mention the $5000 it will cost to have the lap band removed.

95% of research into obesity is funded by private industry including pharmaceutical companies.

This is a massive conflict of interest!

The research report Sarah has dissected regarding gastric banding promotion for teens, is typical of how research is frequently reported by anti-fat warriors. That is, they (1) frequently cite research that either does not even support the claims they make, or (2) promote ‘bad’ research that supports their established view and ignore ‘good’ research that contradicts it.

The fact is that the majority of research into obesity does not account for numerous confounding factors, such as: binge-eating, previous history of dieting, weight cycling (which is far more damaging to one’s health than staying at a higher but steady weight), sedentary lifestyle, etc

For example, we know that binge-eating itself significantly inflates a person’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes, INDEPENDENT of weight change. Why is this frequently unaccounted for in the research?

The majority of Australians who match the criteria for ‘obesity’ exist with a BMI of between 30-35. That is, they are not ‘morbidly obese’ to the point of being immobile, but unfortunately when one says ‘obese’ often only the extreme cases are visualised. Rarely do we consider that your average rugby league player would fit this description, or that people can actually be fat and fit.

Pushing weight loss as the ONLY solution to assumed health problems (that’s right- if you have a BMI of 31 but no health problems, you are considered ‘obese’ and therefore your body is a ‘ticking time bomb’ ) – is harmful to our health.

I am afraid that gastric banding is going to be the next form of plastic surgery to become fashionable – the company Allergan, as Sarah has blogged about, not only makes gastric banding products but also breast implants and other products that are part of the plastic surgery industry. Numerous health complications are likely – don’t be fooled that this is an issue about health- this is about the beauty industry co-opting a language of health, and corporations capitalising on promoting fear about ‘fat’ bodies while watching their bank accounts inflate.

We should be promoting the adoption of a healthy lifestyle, independent of weight.

I was diagnosed with type two diabetes 18 months ago, just after the hype about gastric banding being a “cure” for type two diabetes came out. The number of people who told me I should get gastric banding was staggering, doctors, people on the street, rellies, friends, everyone was recommending it. My reply – of course eating less is going to lower my blood sugars, thats a no brainer, but that’s a bandaid solution, not a cure! Also, the con’s WAAAY outweighed the pro’s for me, and your post has reassured me that my decision not to have the surgery was the correct one!!!

I find it amazing that a medical procedure is allowed to be advertised in any way. Surely recomending a surgical procedure should be the responsibility of a specialist only, why is this procedure advertised in diabetes magazines, and other media, as an easy and suitable weight loss strategy? It’s like advertising a hysterectomy as birth control!