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.

North Carolina is a wonderful place — a land of basketball, big smiles, and our unique form of barbecue, of course. Unfortunately, too much of anything – even our famous ‘cue! – can be bad. The fact is that we’re all getting fat here in North Carolina. More than 61% of the population of the Tar Heel State is overweight or obese.

And it’s costing us all. According to a 2004 state survey, obesity-related medical expenditures in North Carolina total more than two billion dollars annually, with slightly over half ($1.11 billion) of this total being financed by the taxpayers – i.e. us. That’s about 6% of North Carolina’s total health care bill!

Obesity is no joke. It’s dangerous, unsightly, and may lead to co-morbidities, which are life-threatening illnesses related to obesity, like diabetes, cancer, heart conditions and hypertension.

It’s easy to see that North Carolina is under attack by obesity. But Tar Heels don’t back down from a fight.

Fighting Fat

Okay – a lot of us are fat. But why? Is it a lack of self control? No way. Obese people are not “fat slobs” by choice. Nobody wants to be obese!

Obesity is not a weakness of character. Obesity is a disease – a medical condition that requires medical treatment. Sometimes the cause of the disease is an unmet psychological or emotional need, with food as a kind of surrogate therapy. Other times the sufferer is biologically addicted to food, just like a junkie is to heroin. Whatever the cause of a given case of obesity might be, however, the person behind it deserves our compassion. Contempt towards those suffering from a disease isn’t the Tar Heel way.

Instead, we should treat obesity medically. Medical treatment for obesity consists of helping the sufferer change his or her lifestyle and eating habits for life. We can do this by means of support groups, doctor-supervised diets, and education. For most obese folks, these methods work. For the rest, weight loss surgery can help.

About Weight Loss Surgery

Weight loss surgery works by surgically altering the patient’s stomach to limit how much food he or she can eat. The surgery itself is performed with the patient under general anesthesia, usually as a laparoscopic procedure. These alterations force the patient to take in fewer calories each day than his or her body burns, which causes the person to drop excess pounds in a relatively short time.

But, surgery only works as part of a total medical treatment plan. It is not a magical cure for obesity. Patients who fail to follow the treatment plan recommended by their surgeon after surgery very often regain the weight they lost. The decision to undergo weight loss surgery is also irrevocable, since most procedures cannot be reversed. Decisions involving surgery of any type should only be made in consultation with a physician.

Let’s do it!

Tar Heels, we can’t let obesity hurt our people. We’re in a major health crisis – let’s beat it!  By treating the disease of obesity as a disease, we can win – and we will!

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, (PCOS), is a metabolic disorder where undeveloped follicles collect on the ovaries causing a hormonal imbalance. This imbalance can affect fertility, increase body hair on some areas and thin hair in other regions. Sufferers have excessive fat around the midsection which they find difficult if not impossible to lose.

PCOS patients also tend to have insulin resistance or diabetes. Obesity is one of the listed causes of PCOS, but PCOS can also be the reason for the obesity. Gastric bypass offers an end to that catch 22.

Normally during a menstrual cycle, follicles grow within the ovaries and eggs develop within the follicles. The fastest egg to reach maturity will be released into the fallopian tube to await fertilization. The remaining follicles will degenerate.

If the egg isn’t fertilized, it happens again the next month. After a while the polycystic ovary will take on a grape-cluster appearance. The over abundance of follicles stimulate the hormones and create an imbalance inside the female body.

In PCOS, degeneration of the excess follicles doesn’t happen. When weight is lost, it is thought to somehow help degenerate the follicles instead of leaving them undeveloped. Gastric bypass surgery enables the PCOS sufferer to lose weight. Many times, when the excess weight is lost, the ovaries will return to normal and the symptoms of the syndrome will subside. Hormones will balance out and the woman can conceive.

Losing weight with gastric bypass surgery has also been linked to the spontaneous reduction of diabetic issues and pre-diabetes, also known as insulin resistance. Insulin resistance and diabetes happens when the body does not properly utilize insulin and too much sugar builds up. When the body is rid of extra weight, it can better manage it’s insulin.

Opponents of using gastric bypass with PCOS patients argue that it is not safe with women who want to have children. The gastric bypass diet is unable to provide enough nutrition to a pregnant woman’s body and fetus and could cause an unhealthy pregnancy.

Supporters state there is a higher risk of complications, such as gestational diabetes, which they say is more likely to harm the fetus in obese women than gastric bypass patients. Ultimately, this will have to be a personal decision. If you choose to have gastric bypass surgery, then you become pregnant, your diet should consist of many small meals of proteins, fruits, veggies, and calcium supplements. Your doctor should closely monitor your health, and you should carefully follow her dietary advice.

In conclusion, PCOS can sometimes be effectively managed with gastric bypass surgery, but it isn’t a “cure” for everyone. The surgery is major and life altering, and there are always risks.

Gastric bypass surgery should only be performed on individuals who have given an honest effort at dieting and exercise. Women who want children should carefully consider their options and the possible consequences of their chosen actions. If the benefits outweigh the risks, then gastric bypass may be the right choice.