New York has always been a big place, and from Buffalo to the Big Apple, we’re growing bigger every day – at the waistline.

That’s right, Empire Staters – we’re getting fat. Fact: almost 59% of the population of New York is overweight or obese. The kids are feeling the pain, too. In one New York City-based survey, 24% of elementary-school children were overweight or obese, with at least 20% obesity in each grade, including kindergarten. Worryingly, the survey revealed that Hispanic children were obese at significantly higher levels (31%), putting them in real danger of being obese adults.

Are we going to settle for this situation? Forget about it! We’re New Yorkers – and we’re not going to give in to the attack on our health without a fight.

Fighting Fat

Contrary to popular belief, most obese people are not gluttons. Nobody wants to be a fat slob, after all. People don’t eat too much because they want to – they do so because they are driven to. For example, some obese people have psychological or emotional needs, and they eat as a kind of cheap therapy. Others are food junkies – they are literally addicted to food, like a junkie on heroin. Yes, many thinner people see the obese as being victims of their own lack of self control – but that’s not true, and thinking like that just makes matters worse for everyone.

The truth is that obesity is a disease. It is not a character flaw. It is a medical condition that requires medical treatment. This treatment usually takes the form of support groups, changes in activity level, and medically-supervised diets, all of which work together to permanently change the patient’s lifestyle and eating habits.

But some people with obesity are too far advanced for this sort of therapy to work. For them, there’s another option: weight loss surgery.

About Weight Loss Surgery

Weight loss surgery works. The process involves surgically altering the patient’s stomach and/or digestive tract in order to limit the amount of food the patient can eat, which forces the patient to take in fewer calories each day than his or her body burns, which leads to the loss of excess weight. The surgery itself is over with quickly, and is performed with the patient under general anesthesia, usually as a laparoscopic procedure.

But here’s the catch:  surgery only works as part of a total medical treatment plan. Patients who fail to follow the treatment plan after surgery may get sick, regain any weight lost, or even die. Most weight loss surgery procedures are also irreversible. For these reasons, it is vital that individuals considering weight loss surgery discuss the risks and possible outcomes with their physician prior or an experienced surgeon before making a decision.

We Love a Healthy New York

New Yorkers are tough. We’re not going to let obesity harm our people. We’re tougher than this disease. By treating obesity medically, we can beat the bulge that’s hurting our state. Let’s get moving!