In June 2013 the American Medical Association (AMA) voted to classify obesity as a disease. This new classification means that views on obesity will change, with medical intervention not only being accepted, but being part of the normal intervention for the disease, just as medical intervention is normal with other life-threatening diseases.

For years people have been coping with the stigma of being overweight. As obesity rates rise alarmingly, with over 35% of US adults and 17% of their children being classified as obese, more people have to cope with the social, lifestyle and health implications of obesity.

Weight loss surgery, such as lap band surgery, gastric sleeve surgery and gastric bypass surgery has, until recently, been viewed as a “short cut” to weight loss, something that people undertook because they didn’t have the inclination, or the willpower, to lose weight independently. At Weight Loss Surgery Mexico we know that this is not the case, that the many patients we see and treat for obesity have tried, without success to lose weight and that, for them, medical intervention is the best, or only, option.

This change is hoped by the AMA to change doctors’ outlook on obesity, from a lifestyle condition that needs altering, to a medical condition that requires a range of medical interventions.

About Obesity

An individual is classified as obese if they have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher.  People are considered to be within a normal weight range if their BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9.

Although, until now, obesity hasn’t been officially classified as a disease, the condition has been recognized as contributing or even causing a range of related conditions. These include:

  • Heart disease
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Stroke
  • Liver disease
  • Sleep apnea
  • Osteoarthritis
  • Joint pain
  • Infertility
  • Breathing problems

In addition, the 2013 Annual report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer uncovered a significant increase in obesity-related cancer over the past 30 years, with obesity leading to cases of:

  • Breast cancer
  • Colon cancer
  • Esophageal cancer
  • Pancreatic cancer
  • Kidney cancer

Treating Obesity

Weight loss surgery has developed over the years to incorporate a broad range of weight loss procedures, designed to suit the needs of the weight loss surgery patient. Broadly, there are two forms of weight loss surgery: restrictive weight loss surgery and malabsorptive weight loss surgery.

Restrictive weight loss surgery, such as gastric band surgery or gastric sleeve surgery, reduces the size of the patient’s stomach so that they are able to eat less food before feeling full. Malabsorptive weight loss surgery, i.e. gastric bypass surgery, reduces the stomach capacity and actually reroutes the intestines so that less of the food eaten is absorbed into the blood and stored as fat.

Advances in weight loss surgery mean that there are procedures that are reversible, e.g. lap band surgery, and specially created technology that enables stomach size to be adjusted to suit the requirements of the patient, such as the greenzone technology.

At Weight Loss Surgery Mexico we offer a broad range of weight loss surgery procedures to suit the specific medical requirements of our individual patient. Within our state of the art hospitals we have access to some of the best surgeons in the world and the very latest in medical technology.

If you would like to know more about the range of benefits of low cost weight loss surgery in Mexico contact us for a free, no obligation consultation with one of our qualified, US-based caseworkers.