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Another Benefit of Weight Loss Procedures

Some recent research is indicating that weigh loss procedures are helpful against gout. For those who aren’t sure what gout is, it’s a common and particularly painful form of arthritis that is frequently associated with weight issues and which most often attacks the feet. Sufferers typically suffer excruciating flare-ups that are often triggered by particular foods that are rich in uric acid, the cause of the inflammation behind the condition. However, they do note that flare-ups of gout are a possibility shortly after surgeries. Considering the number of conditions that can be effectively dealt with by eliminating obesity, it’s not surprising that this particular condition can be eliminated or greatly lessened with the help of the procedure.

To understand just why bariatric surgery is now being frequently recommended by physicians, it’s important to have some idea of how and why a procedure like a sleeve gastrectomy works. Most individuals who are severely obese are highly motivated to lose weight, particularly if serious or painful health problems are an issue. However, while many patients are able to lose impressive amounts early on, over time, the tendency is to regain the weight, often with some additional pounds added. Most weight loss experts now theorize that a primary reason for this well-known phenomenon comes down to hormones. It appears that most people with weight issues produce a higher amount of substances like ghrelin that are associated with feelings of hunger and appetite. Worse, when individuals start to lose weight, the body goes into a kind of pre-starvation mode and production of hunger hormones increases. Thus, defeating obesity is no mere matter of self-control; no matter how well motivated, most people simply can’t ignore the nagging hormonal cravings the body generates.  

Surgeries like the gastric sleeve get at the root of obesity by working in two different ways. Removing a large portion of the stomach and leaving a sleeve-like pouch makes overeating difficult and unpleasant, as you would expect. However, since hunger hormones appear to be produced in certain areas of the stomach, surgeries that reduce the size of the stomach can also greatly reduce the production of hunger hormones. Thus, patients are able to focus on changing their dietary habits without the constant sensations that are indistinguishable from actual hunger and that make life extremely difficult for people who are trying to significantly reduce their caloric intake.

Readers who are interested in finding out more about weight loss surgery should call BHP at the phone number above.

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