According to a recent article in USA Today, the widespread perpetuation of weight loss myths not only fails to motivate consistent and significant weight loss results, it can have overall negative effects by disseminating false information about weight loss. The article explains that, when someone hears about a “miracle cure” to obesity, they may try the fad for themselves, and will most likely end up discouraged and confused as to why the method didn’t work for them. The truth is that getting discouraged about the possibility of losing a significant amount of weight can often cause patients to give up entirely, and allow their obesity to completely overtake their health. Yet, weight loss surgery offers many severely obese patients a way out of what often seems like an endless cycle of tried and failed diets. Unlike fad diets, weight loss surgery has been proven time and time again to help obese patients lose a significant percentage of their excess weight, and keep it off in the long term.

• Losing Weight – While different types of weight loss surgery take a slightly different approach, their core goal is to limit the capacity of the stomach so patients eat far less at each meal. They note that many patients considering weight loss surgery will often choose between the Lap Band and the gastric sleeve. While the Lap Band had a large jump in popularity about a decade ago, the gastric sleeve has been rapidly growing in popularity in light of recent favorable study results. Overall, these results have showed that the gastric sleeve patients tend to lose more weight than their Lap Band counterparts, while experiencing a rate of serious complications much lower than the more radical gastric bypass, the procedure once considered to be the gold standard.
• Keeping it Off – Another reason why patients are turning to the gastric sleeve, is that it is a permanent solution that does not necessitate regular adjustment appointments similar to what Lap Band patients must undertake. Because, for many patients, the idea of keeping the weight off is much more daunting than losing the weight in the short term, this permanence can be extremely comforting.