| Obesity surgery in Australia doubles in five years |
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| Tuesday, 27 November 2007 | |
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The results of a recent Swedish study were presented to the Australia and New Zealand Obesity Conference. The study followed 4000 obese people, half of whom had undergone weight loss surgery, while the other half had tried to control their weight through lifestyle changes such as diet and exercise. After 10 years, those attempting to control their weight through non-surgical means had suffered twice as many fatal heart attacks as those in the group who had undergone weight loss surgery. Similarly, 47 of the non-surgical group had died of cancer, compared to 29 in the surgical group. University of Western Australia's Professor Jeff Hamdorf said that the Swedish study "really shows how effective surgery can be for obese people who have not been able to lose weight any other way." At the moment, bariatric surgery or gastric banding procedures are only recommended for those with a body mass index (BMI) of 35 or more (click here to check your BMI). However, Professor Hamdorf believes that there would be benefits to the public health system through making the surgery available to those people with a BMI of 30 or more. Like all invasive surgery procedures, gastric banding and bariatric surgery is not without risk for the patient. In 2005, Andrew Petrie, the former mayor of the Australian city of Woollahra, ended up in intensive care after suffering complication arising from gastric band surgery. He has undergone several corrective procedures since then, and has commenced legal action against those who provided the original procedure. |
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