Gastric Bypass Surgery Vs Diet & Exercise - Which is Better Option?

Although long term outcomes are still unknown, data of two-year studies of weight-loss surgery appear to be more effective than diet & exercise, especially for obese people who have a lot of weight to lose. Research found that individuals undergoing gastric bypass surgery on an average lost 26 kilograms, far more than patients undergoing nonsurgical treatments. Weight-loss surgery patients also reported better improvements in quality of life & were also able to reduce dependency on medications than patients undertaking diet & exercise .

Obesity is a Major Problem

Obesity is now recognized as a significant health risk & incidence has more than doubled over the past 25 years. More than 65 percent of the United States population is presently obese or overweight. Europe is not far behind & reports indicate that almost 40 – 50 percent people are obese or overweight. Risk of several serious ailments like cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, musculoskeletal diseases including osteoarthritis, & some types of cancers are found to increase among people who are overweight.

Gastric Bypass Surgery Vs Diet & Exercise

Gastric bypass surgery essentially splits the patients’ stomach in two parts. While the first part of stomach collects food, it is connected with the lower portion of small intestine. However, the function of the second part of the stomach merely remains to produce digestive fluids which are passed on to the small intestine for helping digestion of foods. While the gastric bypass surgery patient feels full faster this way, some portion of the digestive system is also skipped & thereby smaller amount of calories are absorbed from food.

Benefits of Gastric Bypass Surgery

This is an excellent weight-loss surgery which leads to faster & more dramatic results where almost 50 percent of total weight loss is achieved within the first 6 months. The other half of weight loss spans over a two-year period of time. This rapid loss of weight enables gastric bypass surgery patients rapidly recover from a variety of obesity related conditions including diabetes, sleep apnea & high blood pressure. Moreover, these results tend to last for extended periods of time.

Benefits of Diet & Exercise

Though loss of weight with diet & exercise take longer & may not be so profound, the patient does not run the risk of not absorbing enough nutrients later. Overall health is not compromised like in the case of gastric bypass surgery where less iron, calcium & certain vitamins are subsequently absorbed. Moreover, there is no need to take extra supplements to take every day in order to make up, like it is with weight-loss surgery. Diet & exercise is much safer without any side effects while gastric bypass surgery is a major operation which carries significant risks like infections & blood clots.

Conclusion

India has emerged as a leading medical tourism destination over the years providing good quality of healthcare solutions including weight-loss surgery procedures at affordable prices. International patients from around the world can undergo excellent gastric bypass surgery at fraction of a cost when compared to the price of similar procedure in developed western countries like United Kingdom, Canada or United States. With outcomes of weight-loss surgery at par with the best in the world, the question is, why pay more when you can get the best for less.