Is surgery better?

[Freddy]

I read a recent study that said weight loss surgery proved to be better for obese patients with diabetes compared to the same type of patients who took diet drugs. They not only had better weight loss results, but something like 5 years after surgery, some of the patients no longer had diabetes! That's amazing! What I'm wondering is would surgery be a better treatment for all obese people struggling to lose weight and not just those with diabetes compared to taking diet drugs?

[MadMike]

I think surgery is a good last resort if you aren't losing weight on your own. I think the point is to keep the weight off. If you can do that naturally, it's better to go that route (even if it takes medications to get you there). Surgery might have had those great results, but it comes with a lot of risks, too, and a lot of drawbacks.

[Speeddemon]

I agree with MadMike. Surgery really should be the last resort. Unless you absolutely need it, getting cut open should never been a weight loss consideration unless things become dire. The way you gotta look at it is if you're faced with the situation that your weight is gonna kill you, than the potential benefits of the surgery outweigh the risks.

[Bethie]

I agree with MadMike. Surgery really should be the last resort. Unless you absolutely need it, getting cut open should never been a weight loss consideration unless things become dire. The way you gotta look at it is if you're faced with the situation that your weight is gonna kill you, than the potential benefits of the surgery outweigh the risks.

That’s just it, Speeddemon. It’s good and all that they are getting good benefits from the surgery, but it’s not a walk in the park, either. There are also a lot of other benefits linked to losing weight on your own without surgery. That study is just about the diabetes risk but it doesn’t look into the whole huge other number of benefits connected with weight loss and it doesn’t underline all the side effects, risks, and other problems that can come with surgery.

[Speeddemon]

That’s just it, Speeddemon. It’s good and all that they are getting good benefits from the surgery, but it’s not a walk in the park, either. There are also a lot of other benefits linked to losing weight on your own without surgery. That study is just about the diabetes risk but it doesn’t look into the whole huge other number of benefits connected with weight loss and it doesn’t underline all the side effects, risks, and other problems that can come with surgery.

Exactly, Bethie. I feel like every time a new study is released, no matter what the findings are, people tend to believe that this is the new way we should all be thinking. It's great that people study things and we can learn a lot from it, but people need to stop thinking that there is one great fix for the health problems in our life. I do think surgery could be beneficial for some people struggling to lose weight, but the bottom line for most of us is that if you really want to drop pounds, stop eating crap, get yourself on a healthy eating schedule that includes water and good food, and get off your butt and move around.

[Freddy]

Yeah. I guess surgery should be a last resort. It is nice to hear that it seems to be helping some people in a positive way, though