A recent study that compared diet and exercise data from adults today versus those of a similar group taken in 1988 has shown that it really is more difficult to lose weight these days. Specifically, the study found that a person in 2008 with the same diet as someone in 1971 would be on average 10 pounds heavier than their past counterpart. In terms of exercise, people today with the same exercise habits as those decades earlier can expect to be five pounds heavier. While, at this point, the study can only provide theories behind the change, the findings confirm what doctors and patients have long believed: losing weight can be extremely difficult.

However, while the present day may be the hardest time to maintain a healthy weight, it is also the time that provides patients with more medical tools and procedures than ever to help them lose weight. For those suffering from severe obesity, weight loss surgery is perhaps the most promising of these options. Both in terms of controlling the urge to eat in excess, and in their ability to maintain these benefits long-term, bariatric procedures have been shown to be extremely effective in helping patients lose weight and keep it off long term.

• Controlling Cravings – The basis of weight loss surgery’s effectiveness is in its ability to restrict the capacity of the stomach so patients can feel full and satisfied after eating a much smaller quantity of food. While the procedures use slightly different advanced methods to safely and effectively achieve this effect, the idea behind them is simple: when your body is satisfied with a much lower amount of food, the emotional and mental difficulties that go along with losing weight are greatly reduced.
• A Long Term Solution – The second aspect of weight loss surgery that makes bariatric patients so successful is that the procedure allows them to maintain a lower caloric intake permanently. While most people have found that they can stick to a successful diet for a few days, weeks, or even months, it is often inevitable that life catches up to a dieter and pushes them off track. Weight loss surgery is so effective due to the fact that, even a year down the line when a patient’s motivation may have tempered off, the capacity limiting effects still work as intended.