What Do Y'All Think of This Comment

[sparrow]

Hi All:

So, I'm on the treadmill watching Discovery Health while I run. There's a program on about this obese teenager and how difficult things are for him. He was pretty big - a BMI of 66, 400 pounds. Still he wasn't bedridden or anything, was up and about and going to school etc. So they talk to his sister, who used to be around 300 pounds and lost weight through diet and exercise. She says that she is against her brother having Bariatric surgery because she does not feel that he has really given diet and exercise a try at any point in his life. Then, and this is the comment that surprised me, the commentator says, "but at Joe's weight, it is doubtful that diet and exercise would improve his health."

Huh? Aren't there alot of obese people out there getting it done with diet and exercise?!

Sparrow

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[NurseLRT]

That is strange. Maybe he was in a desperate situation. Maybe his personality wasn't likely to commit to diet and exercise. Sadly some people never face the fact that they have to change their lifestyle.

Lori

 

[Mariela]

I think that obese people can lose fat quickly at the beginning of a sensible diet an exercise program, contrary to what the commentator suggest. I am no doctor and that is just my opinion, but my experience has been that the LESS you have to lose, the MORE time it takes. I know it's not about the time, but I simply think that the commentator was creating or perpetrating a myth, in order to promote the surgery.

Many people try to modify their lifestyles and fail, for lack of motivation and/or misinformation. I think those cases call for the help of qualified dietitians, personal traines, etc.

 

[Bobbi]

That's awful. Statisically it may be true but it's defeatist talk and everyone should be required to take an honest whack at diet and exercise before going under the knife. Shame on them and anyone who performs the surgery without encouraging diet and exercise unless someone's life is in danger. How rapid is weight loss with the surgery? I'm not even sure diet and exercise alone migh tnot be the better choice even if someone is so obese they could die. I guess beginning an exercise program could be dangerous to someone who is very obese but so can major surgery.
Bobbi http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif "Chick's rule!"

Tell me, what it is you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? -Mary Oliver

 

[Connie1]

Maybe he was trying to say that her brother was so out of control that he was running out of time.

 

[kathryn]

"but at Joe's weight, it is doubtful
>that diet and exercise would improve his health."
>
>
Wha? And having his stomach stapled so he can't eat more than 2 tablespoons of food at a time without puking, and has to take liquid supplements to provide the nutrients that his body won't be able to absorb from food...will improve his health?

It seems to me that people are a bit too quick nowdays to go the surgical route, encouraged no doubt by the doctors who, as surgeons, see that option as the first solution. I've even heard of people GAINING weight so they meat the criteria for bariatric surgery.

That statement, without any qualifications (what are the reasons?) does seem rather defeatist.

 

[lorihart]

That is a weird comment to make.I have never in my life had any kind if surgery, broken arm...nothi'in...and I can't imagine going under a knife unless it was life threatening (and I guess in this situation it is) but whats the point in doing surgery if he doesn't understand the consept of eating right and exercising....he may just end up overweight again.
Lori

 

[wutherhi]

Well that's just silly. Of course diet and exercise will improve his health! What is that man thinking?

As for the sister, maybe she means that the boy has no intention of changing his lifestyle, even after the surgery. There are many ways to "get around" the surgery and eventually gain the weight back. They can stretch their stomachs out again, and they can eat and drink high calorie items with little nutritional value, which could be especially dangerous. I've heard that sugared pop, for example, is a huge problem.

It seems to me the sister is much wiser than the commentator. She appears to fear, rightly, I believe, that brother will be undergoing a dangerous surgery that won't yield any permanent benefits without a change in attitude on his part. I just hope her example will provide some motivation for him to try to get healthy on his own. A good example can help immensely. My mother was my example, although she has since backslid. But I saw her eating healthy when I was young, and she taught me how. I hope to be the same example for my son (but I'd rather leave out the backsliding part).

Shari