Steven Hinchee
Word Count 1235 Miracle Surgery For The Obese
Today, in the 21st Century , the majority of our citizens are in a potential life and death struggle with a silent killer. This killer is slow, methodical and ruthless. It doesn’t care how much money you have, the color of your skin, or what religion you believe in. Fortunately, this enemy can be easily defeated, for it only has one weapon. That weapon is us. Have you figured out what the enemy is? It’s the unhealthy foods that most of us consume every day. Just like the cars we drive, our bodies need fuel to run. However, our bodies are not designed to store excess fuel. This excess fuel will eventually be converted to fat, and that is when the trouble starts. If this trend continues one eventually becomes overweight, or even worse, obese. Usually, a sensible diet, coupled with regular exercise, will be sufficient to maintain healthy lifestyle. Thankfully, for those who have not been successful at this, modern medicine has come to the rescue with a some new procedures that promise permanent results that were once thought impossible. This procedure is gastric bypass surgery, and it has brought new hope to the ones that were once hopeless.
Gastric Bypass surgery is not a procedure used for loosing a few vanity pounds. It is a radical surgical procedure that is only used as a last option for people categorized as morbidly obese, having a Body Mass Index of no less than 40 or 100 pounds over your ideal body weight. You may also be a candidate if have a BMI of 35 and show an additional sign of morbid obesity, such as type 2 diabetes or hypertension. Unfortunately , the list of eligible candidates is getting larger, according to the Center for Disease Control over 64% of Americans, aged 20-74, are overweight (CDC). The statistic reported on the web site laparoscopy.net is even more alarming. It states that 23% of the United States population is morbidly obese, and these numbers are expected to increase over the next two decades. Several serious medical conditions have been linked to obesity, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke (Dunlop). While the physical risks of obesity are great, one must also consider the emotional scars obesity brings to an individual. Many people wrongly stereotype obese people as gluttonous, lazy, or both. However, more and more evidence contradicts this assumption. Obese people often face prejudice or discrimination at work, at school, while looking for a job, and in social situations. Feelings of rejection, shame, or depression are common(emotional). Naturally, this does not affect every obese person, but it does present the obese individual with difficult challenges that the non-obese do not have to face. Is it fair that a heavy man must purchase two plane tickets, when an individual of normal weight only has to buy one? In my opinion, overweight people have enough to deal with without society adding to their problems. Let’s face it, no one is obese by choice!
