New Mexico is the Land of Enchantment. Our state’s quality of life, its natural wonders, and its unique culture draw the ever-increasing interest of people around the United States.

Unfortunately, New Mexico’s fame isn’t the only thing growing: New Mexicans are, as well. The number of overweight and obese individuals in New Mexico is rapidly increasing; in fact, almost 59% of the population of our great state is overweight or obese. The New Mexico Department of Health rates obesity as one of five health status priorities to be addressed by the state’s Comprehensive Strategic Health Plan.

Obesity kills – both directly and by life-threatening illnesses, called co-morbidities, such as diabetes and heart disease. It’s a threat to our state that we’ve got to meet head-on.

Fit or Fat?

Obesity is not a character flaw, and it is not a moral failing on the part of the sufferer. It is a disease, and being fat is only one of its symptoms. After all, losing weight is easy – just drop the body’s daily caloric intake below the amount of calories needed to stay alive. Presto: instant weight loss. This is why fad diets and the like can cause a person to lose weight. However, those who do lose by these means seldom do so permanently – and such gimmicks often further damage their health.

We all know, it’s not really that simple.

Most obese people are not gluttons. Some suffer from unmet psychological or emotional needs, and eat to excess as a form of cheap therapy. Others are physiologically “hooked on food”, as addicted to eating as a junkie is to shooting up. Despite these facts, however, many non-obese individuals see “fat people” as contemptible victims of their own lack of self control – which of course just makes matters worse for the obese.

The truth is that obesity is a disease. It is not a character flaw. Obesity is a medical condition that requires medical treatment – treatment based upon a complete change in the patient’s eating habits and overall lifestyle. For some, tools like support groups, willpower, and so forth are enough to accomplish this change. But, for many people who have struggled with their weight for years on end, weight loss surgery is the only way out.

About Weight Loss Surgery

Weight loss surgery – which is usually a laparoscopic procedure — is performed with the patient under general anesthesia. Of the three basic types of weight loss procedure – malabsorptive, restrictive and combination – each has unique risks and benefits. But, all work by the same principle: surgically altering the patient’s stomach or digestive tract will limit how much they can eat. These alterations force the patient to take in fewer calories each day than his or her body burns, resulting in the loss of excess weight.

The surgery only works as part of a total medical treatment plan, however. Patients who fail to change their lifestyle and eating habits after surgery may regain any weight lost. Anyone considering surgical treatment for obesity should discuss possible outcomes – and possible risks – with their family doctor or a qualified bariatric surgeon before making a decision.

An Enchanting Future

New Mexico can beat obesity. By treating this health crisis with proper medical care and ongoing support, we can make our state healthier, happier, and more a Land of Enchantment than ever before.

How much do you weigh? Take your weight in pounds, and then multiply it by 703. How tall are you? Take your height in inches and multiply it by itself. Now divide the first result by the second result. If the number you come up with is higher than 25, then you have a serious disease.

The disease is obesity — a medical condition characterized by excess weight. If your body mass index (BMI – the number you just calculated) is over 25, you are considered overweight; if you have a BMI of 30 or above, you’re obese

And it’s no joke. Obesity is the second leading cause of preventable death in the United States, and may lead to other life-threatening illnesses called co-morbidities, such type 2 diabetes, cancer, heart conditions, and hypertension. 

We’re in trouble, Hoosiers. Across Indiana, 60% of the adult population is overweight or obese.  Obviously, this can’t go on.

Fighting Weight

Want to lose weight? It’s easy: just eat less and exercise more. A sensible diet plus thirty minutes or more of moderate physical activity, five or more days per week – that’s the ticket to weight loss. No secret there.

But how long can you keep it up? For most people, the answer is “not very long”. Many try to eat right and exercise more using willpower alone, but few succeed. Others turn to trendy diets, TV exercise gadgets, or the use of so-called weight loss pills, but the few who manage to lose weight by these means almost always quickly regain it – often wrecking their health in the process.

Willpower alone is not enough. Gimmicks don’t work. For most, a program of long-term, comprehensive medical care is necessary to cure obesity. And for some, this includes weight loss surgery.

About Weight Loss Surgery

Surgical weight loss – also known as bariatric surgery — has been proven to help ease (and sometimes eliminate) obesity-related health problems. It can also help those who are obese but have no co-morbidities. There are three types of surgery available: gastric bypass, gastric banding, and gastric sleeve surgery, all of which are usually performed laparoscopically. They work by altering the patient’s stomach and/or bowel in order to physically restrict their food intake. The patient feels hungry less often and feels full more quickly, and thus loses weight.

But it’s no free ride. Weight loss surgery only works as part of a comprehensive medical care program based upon changes in the patient’s lifestyle. Those who go back to their old eating habits and lack of activity will soon find themselves obese again. It’s also not “routine surgery” – no such thing exists. As with all surgical procedures, weight loss surgery exposes the patient to the possibility of major postoperative complications, including the possibility of unforeseen death. The risks and possible outcomes of these procedures should be examined in consultation with a physician prior to making any decision.

Forward!

60% of the adult population of Indiana is overweight or obese. We can do better, Hoosiers. Indianans must show our fellow Americans that we care about our health and our future. By making a firm commitment to a healthier way of living, we can do just that – and beat obesity in our state.

Florida is facing a public health crisis:  the crisis of obesity. Obesity, a disease in which a person’s weight becomes significantly above the norm, is on the rise in Florida. In fact, almost 60% of the population of the Sunshine State is overweight or obese. And the crisis extends to our children as well. According to a 2007 study by the Trust for America’s Health, 14.4% of our state’s youth ages 10 to 17 are overweight or obese, with a rank of 21 out of the fifty states.

Obesity is a serious disease — the second most common cause of preventable death in the United States. Besides its obvious lifestyle drawbacks, it may lead to life-threatening illnesses called co-morbidities, such as Type II diabetes, cancer, heart conditions, and hypertension.

We Floridians must rise to the challenge of obesity. But how?

Getting Fit

Beating obesity is not simply a matter of losing weight. That’s easy. The human body requires a certain number of calories each day simply to stay alive. If the number of calories consumed in a day is less than this, the body burns fat to provide the necessary metabolic energy – and weight is lost.

The difficulty comes in restricting caloric intake safely and over the long term. Fad diets and weight-loss pills can cause a person to lose pounds, but most quickly regain the weight – and often suffer damage to their health as a result. Such “cures” treat the symptom of obesity – visible excess weight – not the disease itself. The only way to successfully treat the disease of obesity is by a complete change in the patient’s lifestyle and eating habits.

Many obesity sufferers use eating as a substitute for emotional needs. Others are food addicts, plagued by an urge to eat even when not hungry. Sadly, many people who do not suffer from obesity see these behaviors as indicators of personal weakness on the part of the obese.

We can beat obesity here in Florida. If we eat better food and less of it, and couple this dietary change with a more active lifestyle, we can lose the excess poundage. For those whose obesity is beyond the reach of lifestyle changes, weight loss surgery is there to help.

About Weight Loss Surgery

Weight loss surgery is performed under general anesthesia; usually laparoscopically. Its purpose is to surgically alter the patient’s stomach and/or digestive tract in order to physically limit the amount of food the patient can eat at a given time. If successful, the surgical alterations will cause the patient to take in fewer calories each day than he or she burns, resulting in steady, safe loss of excess weight. But weight loss surgery is only a treatment for obesity; a complete change in the patient’s relationship to food is the only real cure. Failure to follow postoperative instructions may regain any weight lost. It is also important to carefully assess the risks and possible outcomes of weight loss surgery with your physician prior to making a decision.

To defeat obesity, Floridians must redefine our current relationship to eating. With willpower, medical care, and counseling — and, as a last resort, weight loss surgery – we can do this.

Obesity is a health crisis in Illinois. Across our state, the number of overweight and obese individuals is rapidly increasing. In fact, more than 61% of the population of Illinois is overweight or obese. Not only is obesity the second most common cause of preventable death in the United States, but it can also foster comorbidities—that is, life-threatening illnesses related to obesity—such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and Type 2 Diabetes.

Unsurprisingly, Illinois also spends a fortune each year – some $3.5 billion – on expenses attributable to the obesity epidemic.

It’s obvious that something must be done to stop the epidemic of obesity in our state.

Getting Fit

Weight loss itself is a no great problem: by cutting a person’s daily caloric intake below the number of calories their body needs to maintain life, weight loss can be easily effected. The difficulty comes in conquering the primal urge to eat when hungry.

Obesity is not simply a matter of weight, nor is it a character flaw. It is a disease caused by a disordered relationship with food. For some, the pleasure of eating is a substitute for emotional satisfaction. Others are food addicts, who battle an overwhelming urge to eat even when they aren’t hungry. Sadly, the pain of obesity often leads those with the disease to attempt self-treatment, including fad diets, exercise programs, or gimmicks like so-called weight-loss pills. These efforts lead some to lose significant weight, but most quickly regain it. Many people suffer damage to their health as a result of such quickie “cures”.

No miracle cure for obesity exists. The only way to successfully treat the disease of obesity is through medical care, based upon a complete change in the patient’s lifestyle and eating habits. To beat obesity we must change the way we relate to food, making better food choices and eating less of it. Most of us can accomplish this through education and willpower, in some cases combined with counseling and support. For the rest, weight loss surgery is the only way to combat the disease.

About Weight Loss Surgery

Weight loss surgery works by surgically altering the patient’s stomach and/or digestive tract in order to physically limit the amount of food the patient can eat at a given time. This may be done by removing part of the stomach, or by re-routing the flow of ingested food around the areas where the calories are absorbed. In Lap-band surgery — the most widespread procedure — the stomach and bowel are not cut; only a few small incisions in the abdomen are made to allow the surgeon access to the stomach. An inflatable band is then placed around the stomach, creating a small pouch. If successful, these alterations will cause the patient to take in fewer calories each day than he or she burns, resulting in steady, safe weight loss.

But losing weight is only half the battle. Only a complete change in a patient’s lifestyle can win the war on obesity. Patients who fail to change their activity level and dietary habits may regain any weight lost via surgery.

Summing It Up

Weight loss surgery is a powerful weapon in Illinois’ fight against obesity, but it is only one weapon. To win the fight, we must be willing to change the way we live – eating better food, and less of it, and living an active lifestyle. Only by combining these weapons with our will to win can we conquer obesity and live longer, healthier lives.

Weight Loss surgery is not for everyone. It’s not even for every obese person who may want it. No matter how overweight you may be, weight loss bypass surgery is NOT for you if you think that it will once and for all deal with your weight problem. Surprised? Weight Loss surgery is not a magic wand that magically can make all your weight issues disappear. The surgery for weight loss however will change your life for the better if you fit the profile.

It’s not about body mass index or BMI, height and weight charts, or even how much you weigh. At issue here is your outlook concerning weight loss and the problem weight loss surgery can address.

If your hunger and focus on food is constant even when eating then surgery may be for you. Bariatric surgical procedures have been known to quiet the food monster inside many people. We’re talking about folks who, for whatever reason, think about food and have hunger pangs sometimes even when eating. Emotional eaters will need to recognize that food will no longer be available as a source of comfort and this can lead to other problems unrelated to surgical weight loss.

Understand that surgery has its benefits if the grand scheme of things is to lose weight. Many bariatric weight-loss surgery options like lap banding work to shrink your stomach. Some use laparoscopic techniques to place a band around your stomach that constricts the amount of food that you can eat at any one time. This band results in something similar to a figure 8. The top portion of your stomach is much smaller than the lower section, giving you a feeling of fullness with just a few bites of food.

Despite our many of our thinner brethrens claims that obesity is simply a lack of self-control, research has proven time and again that weight gain is much more complex. A person’s weight has as much to do with their emotional state and previous upbringing as it does with what is actually eaten.

Evidence of this can be seen in food selections made by people in highly emotional or stressful situations. It’s almost a cliché that a woman dealing with a recent romantic breakup will reach for chocolate or the proverbial chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.

No weight-loss surgery can help with this type of emotional eating situation. It will not deal with your weight problem once and for all. Surgery is a tool to help you eat less, though it’s possible to out eat the benefits. Remember that the only true way to lose weight is to eat less and exercise more. This surgery works to help you eat less but it is possible to out eat its benefits. Staying on a strict diet after weight-loss surgery however is much easier to do.

In the end, if you are emotionally prepared to live with food only as a source of fuel then weight loss surgery may be for you. You should be encouraged to continue to do research as any type of weight-loss surgery is a life-changing decision not be to undertaken lightly.