Obese Children consider undergoing weight loss surgery ‘cheating,’ a new study shows. Watch this week’s WLS News to find out more.
A recent survey showed that some obese children don’t want weight loss surgery, even if it would benefit them.
The nonprofit United Kingdom organization Carnegie Weight Management surveyed 100 clinically obese youth ranging in age from 8 to 17.
The results included the fact that 71 percent of them felt bariatric surgery is dangerous – and that 59 percent of them consider it to be cheating.
Sixty-one percent of them said there were easier ways to lose weight. But more than half of these kids said they feel their current weight problem will prevent them from finding a boyfriend or girlfriend.
A similar number of them felt their obesity would prevent them from pursuing the career they want. These survey results made the case that while some children know obesity can cause major problems, they would rather avoid solving the problem through surgery. Video plays below.
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November 7th, 2009 at 2:26 am
My daughter (almost 25) has kinda felt this way about me & her dad having had the gastric bypass. She is almost ready to kill herself with dieting & exercise to prove to us she can do it without the surgery. And already she has already fell into the yo yo dieting the last couple of years. Lose weight, gain weight, lose weight gain weight crap. She also has PCOS (like I do), and is struggling with it, she even got a denial letter today for health insurance because of having PCOS. We are in shock…. She is on unemployment and needs insurance. This is horrible. She will surely fall into my darkness shadows without medical insurance. As I started with PCOS -> then diabetes -> depression -> fatty liver -> anxiety -> acid reflux -> morbid obesity etc. All of that is gone since my wls thank GOODNESS.
November 7th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
I’m glad to see children having independent thoughts. I’m sorry to hear about the previous poster’s comment about her daughter. That breaks my heart. Good luck to her.
November 13th, 2009 at 10:08 am
I don’t believe weight loss surgery is “cheating.” I do feel, however that obese kids can usually become more healthy and lose weight by addressing nutrition, exercise, stress management and sleep. Weight loss surgery is a serious procedure and should be reserved as a last effort when all else fails. I believe that if we truly address the underlying cause of obesity, most people don’t need weight loss surgery, especially kids. For more information, see my book, “How To Eat Fried Chicken and Be Thin Too” on Amazon or at strategicbookpublishing.com
November 20th, 2009 at 11:34 am
I would disagree with Ms Glass that the underlying causes of obesity can be resolved without surgery for a large majority of the morbidly obese population. These studies have been out since the 1950’s and we continue to discover new “gut” pathways and hormones that are genetically associated with weight gain or loss. You can add weight to a genetically thin person with an extensive calorie boosting regime but as soon as you stop that regime the weight will come off without effort. Likewise, you can take weight off a person with a genetic predisposition to obesity but as soon as you stop that regime (severe calorie restriction, intensive workouts, etc) the weight comes back sometimes exceeding the previous weight. One can control maybe 20-25lbs of weight gain or loss. After that, genetics should be considered. This is why diets of any kind are ineffective long term, and the patient considers it their failure when the diet doesn’t work long term. A great reference to these studies is in a book called “Rethinking Thin” by Gina Kolata, a NY journalist. There are hundreds of others.