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Stomach Surgery for Kids??Stomach Surgery for Kids??
Heather said: "That is horrible! and WOW.. the kids had to try and lose weight for only 6 months?
It sounds more to me that they are trying to push this surgery as a "fix-it-quick" solution. If I were a parent, I WOULD NOT want to see my child go under the knife for this procedure. I'd go out biking with him instead.
I wonder exactly how much the hospitals make off this procedure? Probably a lot.."
Heather said: "[QUOTE=DBrew]I am sure they make alot and the drug companies make alot as well. I wonder if any of the surgeons, nutritionists and doctors would consider this an acceptable solution for their kids?[/QUOTE]
Somehow I doubt it.. they'd just whip their kids into shape with a better diet and plenty of good old fashioned exercise."
cvalh said: "Jen, for portions you're absolutely right, but I will say this about sugar... You're in the part of the country that uses it the MOST... When I go to North Carolina, I intentionally get things that would normally be bitter.
As for this surgery... I think that somewhere out there are probably kids who would benefit from it, just like I think there are adults who benefit from it. But I don't think it should be used as much as it is used, and I don't think kids should just be able to say, "Mom, this summer I want gastric bypass so I can go back to school looking hot.""
spectrachic311 said: "This is so freaking outrageous. 13 year olds getting permanent, life altering surgery???? They don't even let kids that age get boob jobs, and for good reason. Kids that young don't know anything yet. They don't have the proper judgement to know what they are doing to themselves. Not to mention the fact that when kids are teens, it's the perfect time to help them change their lives permanently WITHOUT surgery. When I was 17, I suppose gastric bypass surgery would have appealed to me. Diet pills appealed to me at that time too...I was young and stupid. If I would have had that surgery done, I don't know what I would have done now. I'd miss being able to eat the way I eat and I'd probably resent having to take supplements forever. I can see surgery as a last resort option for VERY severely overweight people. The thing is, kids don't usually have the same issues most obese adults have. They're still young and they are capable of working out and have high metabolisms. They are prime candidates for losing weight the old fashioned way. And yeah, what about the parents?? They buy their kids video games and junk food and then wonder why their kid is fat. Parents need to do their jobs and take a little responsibility."
xlilphishx said: "I have a neice in that situation. Her parents are well over 250+ pounds. Out of the three kids, my neice Kaila is the only one that is OVERWEIGHT. She is 12 and weighs 200 pounds. She is approx 5 feet tall. I have talked to my sister about this. Kaila's problem is that she HATES exercising. She doesn't want to do it. My sister makes her walk on the treadmill once a day and they have hired a personal trainer. My neice looks at it this way- "My mommy is big, why do I have to lose weight?" The whole family goes on cruises maybe 5 times a year which makes you gain about 10 pounds. They have a lot of parties which have A LOT of food. They live their lives to the fullest. But, I worry that my sister and her husband may not be there for their kids if anything was to happen. My nephews though are athletic and are constantly running around which speeds up their metabolism. It is so sad to me because I don't want my niece to go through a depression or be made fun of because of her weight. My sister said if Kaila does not lose the weight, she will pay to have her get gastric bypass. I fight with my sister on that because I feel solely that it is her fault that she is overweight and my sister and her husband are not setting good examples."
xlilphishx said: "[QUOTE=DrCOOL959]That is wild xlilphishx!
I can not imagine having that much weight to haul around at 12 years old! Especially a female that is 5ft tall. Yikes! and the parents attitude is maddening, there is nothing wrong with her insides, she is 12 for petes sake! Her folks just got to stop living life like it is an endless buffet![/QUOTE]
Absolutely. I feel that it is an insane act by my sister. I love her and I know deep down, she wants what is best for her kids- she is a good mother but this has gotten out of control. They are actually thinking of sending Kaila to fat camp."
xlilphishx said: "You know what though Lakelady- you were "once". At least now you are taking care of yourself. My sister will never take care of herself. I don't think her and her husband will ever change. It's a difficult situation because everything they do to try and fix the problem for Kaila, they won't fix their habits."
xlilphishx said: "[QUOTE=lakelady]Thanks xlilphishx,I AM pretty proud of myself for losing that weight! (STILL after all these years) I think the example is very important. Is there ANY hope for your sis? Can YOU get her interested in an activity of some kind? I will say this for myself, even when I was huge, I was ALWAYS active, I went skating, and sledding and riding, etc., with my kids. Maybe you can get sis to go with you to take your niece and a pal to the skating rink. That's fun and skating's good exercise. If you could get her interested in ONE physical activity maybe it would snowball into others. meanwhile, it looks like Auntie is going to have to be the role model for niece! Good luck![/QUOTE]
LOL, believe me I have tried. She is the most UNACTIVE person I know. I hope for one day when they can allwork together to lead a healthier lifestyle."
DBrew said: "I do not understand how the kids in this study did not lose weight if they were on a nutritionist-guided program. Maybe the nutritionists need to go back to school, or maybe the families did not support the children in the diets.
This type of surgery is so new! Nobody knows the effect it will have on longevity but I do not think it can beat a diet and excersize plan. I would do everything in my power to help my kids lose weight and I would not consider this surgery and acceptable thing to do to a growing body.
I feel that alot of the ADULTS that get this surgery do not need it. Many whom have had it stretch their stomachs back out as soon as they are done with the weight loss. I think 90% or more could lose weight if they found the right diet plan and stuck to it. The laziness of some people is so aggrivating!
Scottish Jen, you are right- We tend to overuse sugar, and our portions are down right gluttonous!"
DBrew said: "I am sure they make alot and the drug companies make alot as well. I wonder if any of the surgeons, nutritionists and doctors would consider this an acceptable solution for their kids?"
naynay said: "I agree that it seems the parents are not doing their job....I don't think any kid should have a surgery like that because can they really understand what it means for them for the rest of their life..they just know that they don't want to be overweight and it will help...they are not old enough to make such a big decision that will effect them when they are 30...how many are going to say I wish i didn't have my body permanently changed"
scottish jen said: "Hi Shorti,
yes it is very disturbing and very sad. I agree with you that we have to wonder how did these kids get to that stage in the first place?
It makes me very mad to think it is a result of poor parenting. I was at Ihop the other day and there was a little girl (in age not size) sitting with her mother. At first I wasn't sure how old she was because she was enormous. As soon as I heard her converse with her mother I realised that she couldnt be older than 9! I felt so sad.
To make it worse her mother was ordering her child several different things from the menu that a grown adult would have difficulty eating. I was fuming,.... so irresponsible and I can only imagine how terrible that little girl is treated by her school friends or even anyone she meets.
When I first moved to NC I was so overwhelmed by the amount of food you get when eating at a resturant. And also not only do the portions seem alot bigger in the states (compared to europe) but everything seems to be so much sweeter! Even bread. I think it is a huge problem for the states and kids need to learn about proper nutrition not only from their parents but in school. I loved it at first because everything was so yummy! But I quickly realised that if I didnt watch what i was eating I was going to be in trouble!
I hope that the kids that have gone through this, as severe as it is, can now enjoy the rest of their lives and be happy within themselves.
jen"
klynnfosh said: "I have to agree with everyone surgery should always be the last option, and then only if other methods have been tried and not succeeded. I think 6 months is not long enough to be on a healthy eating plan for anyone to know if lifetime changes will be made. A lot of kids success though does depend on cooperative parents, since parents are the ones who shop for and prepare most food other than snacks. I think a parental counseling of proper nutrition is in order to help the whole family benefit from the process. As we well know some people are just born lucky and naturally thin no matter what they eat and for the rest of us we have to learn to eat properly if we are to maintain any sort of healthy body weight. Nutrition is important for young people as well to make sure they develop correctly and to help aviod medical problems later in life. There are just so many health problems that are all directly related to the foods we eat that I think somewhere along the way guidelines need to be changed to teach proper food nutrition to the masses. You know the information is out there but not everyone goes in search of it. I do think that the surgery can be helpful for those who have tried all the traditional methonds without achieving results and then I think they should have to have proper education on food to go along with it. Obesity is the number one problem causing health care costs to keep rising and something does need to be done but I think that is through education not surgery for a quick fix."
angel_rising said: "This article is exactly one of my main reasons for wanting to lose weight now. I want to get into a healthy lifestyle before my son is old enough to pick up my behaviors. I know if I want Josh to eat good healthy foods, and get enough excersize, I am going to have to myself. I am making a vow now My son will have both his parents as good rolemodels about making the right decision when it comes to food.
I hope this article wakes up parents around the country on what they are really teaching there kids.
Angel"
mahesh67 said: "I am against the idea of the surgery but I think there are cases where maybe it really is only way solution."
lakelady said: "Oh, I think this is just OUTRAGEOUS! I know we have a problem with childhood obesity. All I had to do was watch the kids coming out of C's middle school every day! But, absent a MEDICAL condition causing a child not to be able to lose weight, what parent puts them through SURGERY. Parents, we're in [I]charge[/I] of this little paradise they live in, you can MAKE tham lose weight, you CAN! Sounds mean, I know, but SURGERY? DO YOUR JOBS for pete's sake."
lakelady said: "I don't know. SOME fat camps are ok. They teach behavior modification that can stay with the kids for life, but I agree that mom and dad should set a better example. I feel like a hypocrite saying that 'cause let none of us forget that I was once 100 pounds overweight, so I guess I shouldn't throw stones, huh?"
lakelady said: "[QUOTE=xlilphishx]You know what though Lakelady- you were "once". At least now you are taking care of yourself. My sister will never take care of herself. I don't think her and her husband will ever change. It's a difficult situation because everything they do to try and fix the problem for Kaila, they won't fix their habits.[/QUOTE]
Thanks xlilphishx,I AM pretty proud of myself for losing that weight! (STILL after all these years) I think the example is very important. Is there ANY hope for your sis? Can YOU get her interested in an activity of some kind? I will say this for myself, even when I was huge, I was ALWAYS active, I went skating, and sledding and riding, etc., with my kids. Maybe you can get sis to go with you to take your niece and a pal to the skating rink. That's fun and skating's good exercise. If you could get her interested in ONE physical activity maybe it would snowball into others. meanwhile, it looks like Auntie is going to have to be the role model for niece! Good luck!"
DrCOOL959 said: "[quote=spectrachic311]This is so freaking outrageous. 13 year olds getting permanent, life altering surgery???? They don't even let kids that age get boob jobs, and for good reason. Kids that young don't know anything yet. They don't have the proper judgement to know what they are doing to themselves. Not to mention the fact that when kids are teens, it's the perfect time to help them change their lives permanently WITHOUT surgery. When I was 17, I suppose gastric bypass surgery would have appealed to me. Diet pills appealed to me at that time too...I was young and stupid. If I would have had that surgery done, I don't know what I would have done now. I'd miss being able to eat the way I eat and I'd probably resent having to take supplements forever. I can see surgery as a last resort option for VERY severely overweight people. The thing is, kids don't usually have the same issues most obese adults have. They're still young and they are capable of working out and have high metabolisms. They are prime candidates for losing weight the old fashioned way. And yeah, what about the parents?? They buy their kids video games and junk food and then wonder why their kid is fat. Parents need to do their jobs and take a little responsibility.[/quote]
Oh god, thats the next thing you'll see at starbucks a 13 year old has-been, washed up from the stresses of life....saggy boob job, gastric by pass, chain smoking.....going through a nasty divorce settlement...her grandchildren hitting her up for money.....lol
You know what I have a problem with, Bands limit how much you can eat right?....so if a nutritionist was monitoring there intake and they weren't sneaking treats/junk food then they'd loose weight without needing the surgery. The surgery except for bypass surgery, only really controls how much goes in, in the case of banding, not much? With bypass from what I understand they bypass some intestine so along with not being able to eat as much because of a smaller stomach pouch, you also don't absorb as much. Which if you have a medical problem I guess I could understand that, but I suspect like alot of people, the children just cheated on their diets. I mean its hard enough for some adults, but children, where instant gratification is a requirement..... Think about christmas when the parent forgets to buy batteries for that new fandangled toy?!? oh all hell breaks loose. So I wonder if the nutritionist really failed, or if her/his subjects sabatoged her/him. You know with drugs there are people called enablers. I suspect there might have even been an adult on the inside giving little billy/sally her after dinner ho-ho even though he/she was supposed to be in nutritional rehab.
As you said, kids have high metabolisms unless there is a medical problem hell, they should have a pretty fast one since they are growing, if they are big and there is no medical issue then they are obviously eatting to much, or crap food, or both. I can say with all certainty the only reason I was big when I was younger was the amount I ate. It had to be 5,000-6,000 calories. You should be fat! eatting that much, and the amazing thing is that some of these kids are not bigger considering what they eat I mean honestly I am surprised I was not much much bigger. That was my super! fast metabolism working its ass off while I'm loading up on the crap.
The sad thing is health issues do become noticeable very quickly. Especially through blood tests that can detect even the most minute changes before your at a stage that you need medication. Like that girl that had the onset of diabetes at her age that is wild. You would expect to see that from someone 2-3 times her age having lived half a life or so overweight.
Anyway My apologies for the long post, just got me thinking! had to ramble! (my excuse is it is late!) =)
DrCOOL959"
DrCOOL959 said: "That is wild xlilphishx!
I can not imagine having that much weight to haul around at 12 years old! Especially a female that is 5ft tall. Yikes! and the parents attitude is maddening, there is nothing wrong with her insides, she is 12 for petes sake! Her folks just got to stop living life like it is an endless buffet!"
DrCOOL959 said: "Lol! they would be sending the wrong person(s)! They should get there eating habbits in check before they try to get their daughter to. How cruel is that! To send her to a fat camp that tries to get her to eat right and when she comes home Mom and Dad have a welcome back from fat camp cake at the table. Thats crazy!"
**Shorti** said: "More kids having weight-loss surgery
By DAVID B. CARUSO, Associated Press Writer
Mon Feb 5, 6:00 AM ET
NEW YORK - As the popularity of stomach surgery has skyrocketed among obese adults, a growing number of doctors are asking, "Why not children, too?"
For decades, the number of kids trying weight-loss surgery has been tiny. The operations themselves were risky, with a death rate of about 1 in 50. Children rarely got that fat, and when they did, pediatricians hesitated to put the developing bodies under the knife. Only 350 U.S. kids had such an operation in 2004, according to federal statistics.
But improvements in surgical technique and huge increases in the number of dangerously obese children have begun fueling a change of heart.
A group of four hospitals, led by Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, are starting a large-scale study this spring examining how children respond to various types of weight-loss surgery, including the gastric bypass, in which a pouch is stapled off from the rest of the stomach and connected to the small intestine.
Three more hospitals have approval from the Food and Drug Administration to test how teens fare with a procedure called laparoscopic gastric banding, where an elastic collar installed around the stomach limits how much someone can eat.
The FDA has hesitated to approve the gastric band for children, but surgeons at New York University Medical Center reported in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery this month that the device holds promise.
The 53 boys and girls, aged 13 to 17, who participated in NYU's study shed nearly half their excess weight over 18 months, while suffering relatively minor complications.
Crystal Kasprowicz, of St. James, N.Y., said she lost 100 pounds from her 250-pound frame after having the band installed at age 17.
"I'm a totally different person," she said.
Before the procedure, Kasprowicz said she took medication for a rapid heartbeat and was showing signs of developing diabetes. Every effort she made to stop getting bigger failed. Dieting didn't work, she said. Her heart problems made it hard to exercise. Even walking up stairs was a challenge.
Now, she's off the heart drugs. Her blood-sugar levels are in check. She also feels better about herself.
"I'm very outgoing now," said Kasprowicz. "I hike a lot ... I go to the beach in the summer now. I'm not as self-conscious when I go shopping for clothing."
Similar studies are under way at the University of Illinois Medical Center in Chicago and at the Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of New York-Presbyterian, which recently opened a weight-loss surgery center for teens. Doctors there expect to conduct about 50 operations this year.
Children are only considered candidates for surgery after they have spent six months trying to lose weight through conventional methods under hospital supervision. But so far, not a single one has slimmed down enough to take surgery off the table, said Dr. Jeffrey Zitsman, associate attending surgeon at Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital.
"That battle can only be won in a few instances," he said.
The studies have followed a huge surge in the popularity of obesity surgeries among adults. The American Society for Bariatric Surgery estimates that more than 177,000 Americans had weight-loss surgery last year, up from 47,000 in 2001.
Not everyone is pleased that kids might be next.
"I don't think altering the human digestive tract is a solution to the problem of excess weight," said Joanne Ikeda, a nutritionist emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley. "It's one of these quick-fixes that isn't a fix at all."
Doctors, she said, still know relatively little about the long-term effects of such operations on the very young.
The federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality released a study in July that said four in 10 weight-loss surgery patients develop complications within six months. Among adults, mortality rates among gastric bypass patients remain at between 1 in 100 and 1 in 200 patients.
Laparoscopic gastric banding has been shown to have a much smaller death rate — about 1 in 1000 patients — but complications do occur.
Of the patients who participated in the NYU study, two needed a second operation to adjust a slipping band; two developed hernias; five got an infection; five suffered mild hair loss and four had iron deficiencies related to their new diet. After the study was complete, one patient asked to have her band removed because of discomfort, said Evan Nadler, a pediatric surgeon and co-author of the study.
Nadler said those complications were minor compared to the chronic diabetes and cardiovascular disease teens would face if they remained that heavy into adulthood.
"These are people who have tried everything they could possibly try," he said, noting that their mean weight at the study's start was 297 pounds. "Once they reach this level of morbid obesity, the vast majority go on to be obese adults," he said.
Thomas Wadden, an obesity expert at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, said surgery can be of immense benefit to some teens, especially those already experiencing health problems.
But he also advised caution.
Egged on by TV shows and commercials expounding the benefits of weight-loss surgery, adult patients have begun showing up at Penn's Center for Weight and Eating Disorders demanding an operation as an easy first step to thinness.
"When we ask them, 'What have you done so far to lose weight?' The patients say, 'Nothing,'" Wadden said. "They're going right to a $25,000 operation for which they are ill-prepared."
It would be tragic, he said, to see the same phenomenon repeated among children.
"They have to be selected with caution to make sure that this aggressive step is absolutely necessary."
This story made me so sad. I feel for those kids... where were their parents? Where is the guidance? What is happening to today's youth at the expense of their's parent and society's inability to educate and motivate them to live healthy lives? I think obsity is the new epademic striking today's youth. One of the many reasons I dont want to have children. Too scared of passing on genetic and learned behaviors that can threaten their livelihood.
Not intending to spark controversy but any thoughts??"
renaissance said: "In our current culture it seems we are more and more taking the easiest route to instant gratification. How much easier to just have surgery than learn or teach proper nutrition and healthy habits that will serve you over a lifetime. Perhaps I show my age, but today's parents of young children seem reluctant to be anything but 'buddies' with their kids - Yeah, it's hard to shut them off from an overabundance of snacks, soda's, TV, and cell phones, but they'd be doing their kids a huge favor with a little more discipline - kids aren't traumatized by parents who act like parents, not their best friends."