In order to combat the problem, people will have to do with less, sacrifice more, work harder and be skeptical of quick fixes.
Yes, that’s the prescription for the economy, but in these downturn times we are going to get our money’s worth and apply it to another problem: obesity.
We’ve all heard the facts, the stunning fat stats: Today 65 percent of all people age 20 and older are overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Since 1991, the prevalence of obesity among adults in the United States has increased by more than 75 percent. And about 16 percent of all children and teens are already overweight.
The problem has clearly been established. The solutions, much less so.
At the end of December, much news coverage was given to a study conducted by an associate professor of surgery and pediatrics at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. The headline: “Gastric bypass halts diabetes in obese teens.” They also lose weight. Researchers used the Lapband method, which involves placing an adjustable band to block off most of the stomach.
Dr. Thomas H. Inge looked at 78 teens with type 2 diabetes. Eleven patients had the bypass surgery, while the other 67 patients received usual care for their diabetes, the Washington Post reported. Teens who had the surgery had an average 34 percent reduction in their weight and their diabetes went into remission. Teens who did not have the surgery saw an average weight loss of less than two pounds and still needed their diabetes medication.
The results sound dramatic, and they are, the result of a very extreme measure. What the researchers didn’t do was define what “usual care” was for the non-surgery group. Since this group lost less than two pounds, we assume “usual care” means the continuation of bad eating habits and absent exercise habits. Unless Lapband paid for the research, why not compare the surgery group to a group getting good, consistent help with nutrition and exercise?
Dr. David Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine, told the Washington Post that while the surgery is effective, it does not deal with the cause of the obesity epidemic. He believes it should be a measure of last resort for teens and adults.
Dr. Katz sums it up: “… can we really condone ushering more and more young people through the (operating room) doors for a major surgical procedure to fix what policies and programs that foster healthful eating and regular activity could have prevented in the first place?”
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