Dr. Daniel G. Davis at Lawrence Hospital Center

Weight Loss Surgery for Older Americans

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A new study published in the Archives of Surgery found no difference between outcomes of patients younger or older than 60 years who underwent gastric by-pass surgery. This study at the Western Reserve University Medical Center, followed 900 patients after having gastric by-pass surgery. The researchers found, "no differences in outcomes between older vs younger nor for Medicare vs non-Medicare patients for any postoperative complication or mortality." There were no mortalities among 46 patients 60 years and older a year after surgery.

As the older population increases, so does the portion that is obese. Obesity, which is a health risk at any age, is particularly detrimental to the elderly population. Obesity in older persons can speed up the rate of decline in physical function, and increase frailty. A recent report in the Journal of American Medical Association estimated that obesity might be responsible for a 5-year decrease in life expectancy.

Obesity surgery has typically been limited for the most part to younger patients, as there were concerns about mortality rates in older patients. For the elder patients in this study, extra screening was done prior to selection, including being tested for sleep apnea, seeing a cardiologist, and a lung care specialist.

Remedy or Ripoff Lactagen

There is a product on the market which supposedly can help people get over their intolerance to milk. It’s something many adults have to deal with. 25 percent of the white population, and almost 90 percent of blacks, Asians, and American Indians are lactose intolerant as adults. Because it’s a common problem, a cure for this would be a blockbuster.

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Weight-Loss Surgery Cures Teen Diabetes

When stomach-stapling surgery is performed on obese adolescents, they usually experience immediate and complete relief from health-imperiling type 2 diabetes, a recent study has showed.

While other studies have indicated such a benefit for adults with type 2 diabetes, this is the first research to examine the issue in children. Type 2 diabetes is usually connected with obesity, which has been characterized as an epidemic in America today. More than 17 percent of American children age 6-19 are obese (having a body mass index of 30 or more), according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Obesity Rates May Be Leveling Off

Here is some remarkable news. We, meaning Americans in general, have finally begun to stop getting fatter. Not that we are any thinner, but at least our national weight expansion has leveled off. This semi-encouraging news comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Read more)