The researchers wanted to study how PAH affects children whose mothers were exposed to the pollutant during pregnancy. They gave pregnant women backpacks with equipment to monitor their contact with the pollutant in their daily interactions in the areas in the Bronx and Northern Manhattan. They then followed their children to ages 5 and 7 and assessed their weight and body fat. At age 5, 21 percent of the children in the study were obese and by age 7, 25 percent of the children were obese. Children of mothers with high levels of PAH exposure during pregnancy were almost twice as likely to be obese at age 5, and more than twice as likely to be obese at age 7, in comparison with children of mothers with lower levels of exposure. Additionally, the children whose mothers had more exposure to pollutants had more body fat, with on average 2.4 pounds more fat mass than the other children. The association between higher PAH exposure during pregnancy and higher childhood obesity rates was significant, even after adjusting for a number of factors including age, sex, ethnicity, birth weight, and use of public assistance.

This study was one of the first to provide data supporting the idea that pollutants in the environment contribute to childhood obesity. Addressing childhood obesity is so important because studies have shown that a child who is obese between the ages of 10 – 13 has an 80% chance of being obese as an adult. Many of our patients tell us they’ve struggled with obesity since childhood. We have a wide variety of weight loss options available whether you want to lose 15, 50, or 150 pounds. Give us a call at 877-691-3001 or register on our website for a free weight loss surgery seminar to learn more about how Whyweight.com can provide you with answers to your weight loss struggles.

A person with 7-8 variants would be expected to have a BMI about one unit larger than it would be without the variants. The researchers then assessed data on television habits as well as physical activity. While walking decreased the influence of the gene, on the other hand, a sedentary lifestyle marked by watching television four hours a day increased the genetic influence by 50 percent. The main problem with TV watching is that it tends to involve so much sitting. If people keep moving while they watch, people don’t necessarily need to miss their favorite shows. The study authors suggest that instead just sitting there, people should exercise while they watch. He said: There’s nothing wrong with TV per se, but TV watching may be indicative of a sedentary lifestyle.”

This is good advice for us at Surgical Specialists too. Maintaining an active lifestyle is an important factor to achieving sustainable weight loss after bariatric surgery, as well. You can read about the important steps to take to prepare for weight loss surgery, or register to attend a free educational seminar at one of our locations in Louisiana or Mississippi.

This research has not yet been published and was presented at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology and Prevention/Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism 2012 Scientific Sessions.

Even though type 2 diabetes is notoriously hard to manage, let alone cure, there are reasons to hope. For years we have been receiving reports of bariatric surgeries resulting in significant improvement and even complete reversal of diabetes in patients. Additionally, bariatric surgery has consistently shown to help improve patients’ cholesterol and high blood pressure levels.

Recent Studies
The recent issue of The New England Journal of Medicine talks about the results of two clinical studies that compare the effects of bariatric surgery versus intensive medical therapy in obese patients with type 2 diabetes. These clinical trials observed a total of 210 patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes mellitus and BMI ranging from 27 and more, some of which underwent bariatric surgery.

All patients received intensive medical therapy, including:
• lifestyle changes
• weight management
• frequent glucose monitoring
• the use of drugs

As expected, weight loss effects were much greater in bariatric patients. Additionally some of the patients showed health improvements, and their need for diabetes, blood pressure and lipid medications has decreased significantly. Some patients were able to completely eliminate the use of diabetes medications. It’s interesting that the reduction in the use of diabetic medications happened before the maximal weight loss, apparently due to the reduction of specific internal hormones.

The Results
The New England Journal of Medicine concludes that bariatric surgery can be useful for management of type 2 diabetes mellitus as well as cardiovascular conditions and high cholesterol. It is possible that such improvements can reduce the mortality from these serious conditions.

One of the clinical study participants, Heather Britton, 53, had her bariatric operation in January 2009. In a matter of months she was able to completely quit her medications for diabetes, cholesterol, blood pressure and triglycerides as well as lose about 80 pounds. In her own words, “It’s been a total blessing”.

Surgical Specialists of Louisiana have been providing outstanding care to weight loss patients for years. We specialize in helping to turn people’s lives around through comprehensive weight loss solutions, including bariatric surgery. If you or someone you care about has diabetes, please consider talking to one of our professional staff members about our life changing weight loss solutions. You can contact our offices at 877-691-3001 or click here to register for a free informational seminar.

Image by wellunwell on Flickr.com

Tweet

Recently, SSL’s Dr. Tom Lavin was interviewed about when to “ditch the diet” and start considering bariatric procedures to help you lose the weight and achieve a healthier lifestyle. Today we would like to share some of these important considerations with you.

Over the years, our experience shows that weight loss patients typically fit into one of three categories:

• 20 to 30 pounds overweight
• 30 to 70 pounds overweight
• 80 pounds or more overweight

Now, let’s take a closer look at these groups and the specific weight management options that we suggest.

20-30 pounds overweight
The best strategy for the first category of patients is lifestyle change by improving eating and exercise habits. We help our patients develop a new eating plan that eliminates all processed foods, reduces simple carbs and fats. We also recommend increasing protein intake as well as adding more fruits and vegetables to their food regimen. Additionally, we develop an exercise plan that best suits the patient’s needs.

It’s important mention here that we don’t like to use the word “diet”, which implies some sort of deprivation. Instead, we prefer to focus our attention on replacing certain foods with healthier choices and referring to it as a new eating plan. This helps create a more positive attitude which makes a difference in the patient’s approach to the change.

30-70 pounds overweight
When it comes to patients who are 30 to 70 pounds overweight, it’s apparent that they often develop serious health problems due to excess weight, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and others. First of all, we work with these patients to make sure they have made significant efforts in the past to reduce their weight naturally, through lifestyle changes. Consequently, we may offer them an endoscopic procedure (POSE) to help break the vicious circle of yo-yo dieting and get a head start with their weight loss.

POSE is a less invasive, incisionless procedure that is performed on an outpatient basis. The surgeon accesses the patient’s digestive system through their mouth and reduces the volume of their stomach by stitching its walls. After that, the patient is able to get back to their normal life within just a couple days, with minimal discomfort and no scarring.

80 pounds or more overweight
For patients who are 80 or more pounds overweight, their excess weight is usually not the only health consideration they are dealing with. Joint problems, diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, heart disease, cancer and even infertility are common to people in this category.

However, the great news is that many of these problems can dramatically improve or in some cases even go away, through bariatric surgery. Various laparoscopic procedures like gastric bypass, banding and gastric sleeve are generally offered to this third group of patients. The surgery is performed through very small abdominal incisions, which reduce the risk of complications and the recovery time. After the surgery, the patient stays in the hospital overnight and is soon ready to resume normal life. The risks from this procedure are much lower than the risks of living a life with so much extra weight.

The bariatric surgery secret
A little known but very important fact is that there is an additional bonus to endoscopic and laparoscopic bariatric procedures: besides reducing the capacity of a patient’s stomach, the procedures also impact the production of hunger hormones. Our bariatric patients report a significant reduction of cravings after their surgery, which helps them lose weight at an increased rate. Contrary to a popular belief, hunger drive is not a purely emotional state. In fact, it’s triggered by hormones produced in the digestive track, and that’s why they are so hard to control. The decrease in this hormone proves to be one of the most important weight loss factors.

Take Action
As surgeons we’ve been successfully performing state-of the art procedures on thousands of patients yearly, but our main concern is their overall well-being. We can’t emphasize enough that although our work produces dramatic results, it is not a 100% guarantee of long-term weight loss success. It is imperative that every patient makes consistent efforts to maintain a healthy lifestyle – both a smart eating plan and an individualized exercise regimen. In fact without such changes, maintaining a normal weight over the long run becomes exponentially challenging. That’s why we constantly work with our patients to help them develop life-long habits that will ensure they stay faithful to their commitment to health.

So, don’t delay…get started by talking to us today! To learn more and to find the optimal, long-term solution for your specific situation, call us today at 877-691-3001 and or watch a FREE online seminar or schedule an appointment with one of our experienced specialists online.

Image from opensourceway on Flickr

Tweet

It is possible that the weight regain is caused by hormonal changes that occur after dieting. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine earlier this year showed that hunger-related hormones, including leptin and ghrelin, were disrupted by dieting. Hormones can remain at altered levels for at least a year, according to the study. These altered levels stimulate a heartier-than-normal appetite and can sabotage even the best intentions of dieters. The study followed the hormone levels of obese people for a year after they participated in a 10-week weight loss program. The participants had lost an average of 30 pounds on their diets. Tests showed that several hormone levels, including those of leptin, ghrelin and insulin, were affected by the weight loss.

During the follow-ups, participants reported feeling hungrier than they had at the beginning of the study. After a year, they’d put back on 12 pounds on average, and blood tests found that their hormone levels had only partially stabilized. The hormone changes that occurred would be expected to stimulate weight regain. The study authors explained that in obese persons who have lost weight, multiple compensatory mechanisms encouraging weight gains, which persist for at least one year, must be overcome in order to sustain weight loss. These mechanisms would be advantageous for a thin person in an environment where food was scarce, but in an environment in which energy-dense food is abundant and physical activity is largely unnecessary, the high rate of relapse after weight loss is not surprising.

All of this information is quite, well, informative. However, you might ask how does it help me? Well, the study also explains that bariatric surgery may be a better option for sustainable weight loss, as it has been shown to have positive effects on hunger hormones. At Surgical Specialists of Louisiana, our #1 goal is to provide you with a solution that will improve your life, and keep you healthy and happy long-term.

We have helped thousands of people to lose the weight that so easily can return, be it from hormonal changes, lifestyle changes, stress, dietary choices, or a combination. Additionally, our MyWeight Nutrition & Wellness Counseling is available to help provide you the support you need to achieve healthier dietary choices and a better overall lifestyle.

Please attend one of our FREE informational seminars to learn more about the surgical weight loss options such as gastric bypass or POSE offered by the Surgical Specialists of Louisiana.

*Image  from here.

Tweet

The study was comprised of 442 patients in Switzerland who underwent bariatric surgery from 1998 through 2005. Of the total, 221 had the gastric bypass procedure and the other 221 a gastric band placed. The patients were matched according to sex, age and Body Mass Index (BMI). In order to qualify for surgery, patients had a BMI of greater than 40, or greater than 35 with at least one other disease (such as diabetes). None of the patients had a BMI exceeding 50. After a year, the average BMI in the bypass group fell below 30, and the gastric band group fell to about 34. A BMI of 30 or greater is considered obese. The researchers found that for gastric band patients, maximum weight loss was achieved at 36 months, while the bypass patients achieved maximum weight loss at 18 months. Immediately following surgery, the gastric bypass patients had more complications, with a complication rate of 17%. This is not surprising, however, considering that the gastric bypass is a more complex procedure requiring longer operative time and hospital stay. The gastric band patients had a complication rate of 5.4% immediately following surgery.

At Surgical Specialists of Louisiana, we believe that it is important to the success of patients to have surgical options when choosing which surgery best fits your medical situation, comfort level and lifestyle. We are one of the few programs in our area which offers patients a choice of the full spectrum of weight loss surgery options, from incisionless procedures such as POSE to more traditional weight loss surgeries such as gastric bypass. You can learn more about our program here.

Image from here

Tweet

The study is a meta-analysis, which is a careful and rigorous review of many clinical studies.   Seven studies out of 4,576 possible papers met the criteria to be included in this study.  Because the seven studies reported amounts of chocolate consumption in different manners, the authors decided to compare lowest to highest chocolate consumption when they looked at the health benefits. The authors of the study explain that the exact amount of chocolate needed to experience the health benefits is not clear, yet.

The study also cautions against large consumption of chocolate. Chocolate is high in sugar and calories and therefore can be destructive to weight loss and overall health.  Dark chocolate, which contains a higher cocoa content, will provide the most health benefits without as much fat and sugar as milk chocolate.

At the Surgical Specialists of Louisiana, we understand that our patients need nutrition plans tailored to their needs—even if that means including the occasional piece of dark chocolate! Balance is always very important. You can learn more about our program and weight loss options on our website, by registering for a free weight loss surgery seminar, or by calling us at 877-691-3001.

Tweet

*Image from here

The presentation outlined the methods used to treat obesity from the 17th century through today, starting with the earliest recorded treatments for obesity, which included bleedings and recommendations such as drinking vinegar to dissolve fat and engaging in ‘violent exercise’. Hundreds of years later, during the time of World War II and beyond, quite a few weight loss drugs were developed. These drugs, however, were found to cause too many negative side effects, so their usage was intermittent or stopped completely. The next significant milestone in obesity treatment was in the 1990’s, with the drug Fen-Phen.  It had record-breaking sales, but was recalled in the late 1990’s when it was linked with heart valve problems. Since the recall of Fen-Phen, there have been numerous efforts to create safe and effective obesity drugs; however, currently there are only two drugs that are approved for obesity treatment. The challenge in developing and getting obesity drugs to the market, explains Dr. Mark Fusco, a bariatric surgeon in Florida, is that “they need to demonstrate a significant safety profile to win approval from governmental agencies that are increasingly risk averse.”

Because of the challenges in finding pharmaceutical treatments, surgery and procedures, like POSE, continue to be the most effective in treating obesity. POSE is a new minimally invasive weight loss procedure designed for patients that want to lose 20-70 pounds. The Surgical Specialists of Louisiana are at the forefront of this new technology and are amongst the most experienced at the procedure in the world. Dr. Michael Thomas explained that no matter what procedure you choose, POSE or surgery, “the most important thing patients can do is go to an experienced bariatric surgeon to get the best results. After that, it’s very important that they follow-up with their doctor to make sure they stay on track and have life-long healthy weight loss.”

Surgical Specialists of Louisiana offers a comprehensive weight loss program that involves life-long care for the whole continuum of patients whether they want to lose 20 pounds or 400 pounds.

Tweet

Pre-diabetes is “the state that occurs when a person’s blood glucose (sugar) levels are higher than normal, but not high enough for a diagnosis of diabetes”. Most importantly, people with pre-diabetes have an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, hypertension and stroke. An estimated 79 million Americans age 20 years or older have pre-diabetes. Learn more about obesity and associated health risks such as diabetes.

Who should pay attention to pre-diabetes?
You are at risk for pre-diabetes if you are overweight and 45 years or older. Individuals younger than 45 and overweight, and have any other risk factors such as high blood pressure, a family history of diabetes, physical inactivity, polycystic ovarian syndrome, to name a few, are also at risk. Unfortunately, there usually are no signs or symptoms for pre-diabetes!

As mentioned above, having pre-diabetes exposes individuals to a higher risk for type-2 diabetes. However, studies have shown that losing 5 to 7 percent of body weight through diet and increased physical activity can reduce the risk of developing type-2 diabetes. How do you make this happen? Healthy eating habits and exercise!

What can I do?
Someone with excess weight and pre-diabetes, or insulin resistance may benefit from limiting carbohydrates in their diet. Carbs raise blood sugar more than other foods and will cause the body to produce more insulin.

Regular exercise helps maintain weight loss and prevent weight regain. It also improves glycemic control (measurement of the effects of carbs on sugar level) and reduces cardiovascular disease. Fortunately it doesn’t take dramatic weight loss to reduce the risk for pre-diabetes or to improve your health. Moderate weight loss can help delay or prevent diabetes-related complications. If you feel like you need to lose a moderate amount of weight, learn more about our MyWeight solution, as well as some of our noninvasive procedures such as POSE and ROSE.

Today’s world of technology and social networking may also help you monitor your health. HEALTHSEEKER is a new healthy Facebook game that was developed by the Diabetes Hands Foundation and Joslin Diabetes Center. The goal is to help players make specific lifestyle changes that focus on healthy eating. Check it out!

The Surgical Specialists of LA are a group of 8 board certified advanced laparoscopic surgeons who specialize in surgical and nonsurgical weight loss. For more information about their programs visit www.whyweight.com or www.poseinfo.com.

Tweet

Improve Your Nutrition
Vitamins and protein are key to the healing process following surgery. Protein will help you maintain muscle mass while losing weight and make you feel full longer after your meals. Your doctor will instruct you as to which vitamins and supplements you will need. Plan to incorporate a multi-vitamin, B12, calcium into your daily intake. Start doing this as soon as you can, not only because it will help your health, but it will also to help you get in the habit of taking important vitamin supplements on a continual basis.

Get a Sleep Study
Many over weight individuals suffer from Sleep Apnea Syndrome (SAS) and don’t even know it. SAS is a sleep disorder characterized by abnormal pauses in breathing. In a recent study of patients who had completed a preoperative evaluation for bariatric surgery, 73% of tested patients had SAS that required treatment. As a result of the study, researchers recommended that patients who undergo bariatric surgery should be screened, tested and treated for sleep apnea.

Start Exercising—everyday
Exercise is crucial to weight loss success; it shortens the recovery period and reduces the risk of postsurgical complications. Our doctors have found that patients who start an exercise program before weight loss surgery are twice as likely to have an easier time exercising after surgery. Because exercise tends to be difficult for people who are overweight, the key is to start slowly. Walk in place for 10 minutes, twice a day. Resume exercising two to three weeks after surgery. Cardio and strength training should be part of your exercise routine, three to five days a week.

Cut Down on Alcohol and Quit Smoking
Smoking can make lungs more sensitive during surgery and can slow the healing process by narrowing the blood vessels and restricting the flow of blood to the healing sites. Smoking contradicts the purpose for having surgery: Improving your health! Alcohol is full of empty calories that provide no nutritional value. Weight loss surgery makes you more sensitive to alcohol, so a little goes a long way.

You have committed to changing your lifestyle. You are ready to achieve and maintain a healthy weight with a regimen of healthy choices. The comprehensive weight loss program, including MyWeight Nutition & Wellness Counseling designed by the Surgical Specialists of LA addresses all of these issues, and we will help you achieve your weight loss goals. Visit www.whyweight.com or call 1-877-691-3001 and ask to speak to a patient advocate to answer questions you may have regarding weight loss and bariatric surgery, including questions about our new incisionless procedure—POSE, a one hour endoscopic procedure that is transforming the lives of our patients.

Tweet