Is gastric-bypass a quick fix for the symptom of deeper problems?

It sounds like you’re assuming that all obesity stems from the same problem. I’d wager that in some instances there is a medically valid reason for gastric bypass, and in some instances it is being used as a quick fix.

I’m not assuming anything, which is the reason for the question. Another part of the reason for the question is that there is a double standard concerning eating disorders. People look at those suffering with anorexia with concern, while they look at those suffering with obesity as lazy. I’m simply looking for opinions with regards to the procedure.

There’s no real way of answering that since the reason behind obesity can be both, it can be an illness, and of course if can also be a symptom of poor self control. There are plenty people that a gastric-bypass will work for, but it would have to be a decision made on medical grounds and purely on a case by case basis.

I know, what you mean though, the general populous does often (unfairly I might add) look at obese people as lazy and almost selfish people who don’t care about their health. In reality however, in many cases, this could not be further from the truth.

I had a student looking at this question one year, and she found that there were many problems with this procedure. I would check it out carefully—and look into the medical statistics of long-term success and potential problems—before I proceeded with this operation.

I have a coworker who is planning to undergo the surgery with the removable band. I’ve only known her about a year, but her weight issues appear to be from both a medical issue and poor habits. The surgery program requires that she first lose a certain amount of weight prior to the surgery, which I guess is to ensure that the patients are ready to make the committment to the lifestyle changes. They also have a rigorous medical and psychological prequalification testing and group therapy for people in all stages pre- and post- surgery.

By the charts, I am about 100 pounds overweight. In my case, it is because of my lifestyle. I have struggled with low self-esteem from childhood abuse, and while I have overcome many psychological and spiritual hurdles, the physical seems to be the biggest challenge. A body at rest tends to stay at rest. I would never consider the surgery as a quick fix. I know that the lifestyle change is required regardless, and the risks inherent to any surgery involving general anesthesia is very scary to me.

I am inclined to agree that anorexia and bulemia are looked at more sympathetically than cumpulsive overeating. But eating disorders, like most conditions that have psychological/psychiatric elements at their core, are generally taken less seriously than biologically based diseases.