Well, let’s start with the gossip and then get serious. It seems Gabourey Sidibe who was recently nominated for an Oscar for her role in Precious, has been approached by a weight loss company. It wants to help her lose weight and, of course, by doing so enhance its own reputation. What makes the story so interesting is the aggressiveness of the approach. Here is a young woman who is obviously not unhappy with the way she looks and is successful as she is. Yet a weight loss company thinks she should want to lose weight. Now we could assume this company is altruistic. It knows being obese significantly increases the risk of diabetes, arthritis, some cancers, a stoke or heart disease. If anyone overweight can lose between 5 and 10% of their body weight, these risks are reduced or completely disappear. So why look for celebrity endorsement? The answer lies in the national statistics.
In 2009, the National Institutes of Health reported obese people in the US represented 34% of the population while the number who were merely overweight represented only 32.7%. For the record, this classifies 72 million people as obese, i.e. their BMI is 30 or higher. In fact, the rate of obesity has doubled over the last thirty years and, being dispassionate about it, this represents a major market for weight loss products and services. Billions of dollars are at stake. Against this background, the San Diego Medical Center has been running a clinical trial on POSE (Primary Obesity Surgery Endolumenal). This is a new approach to bariatric surgery. The increasingly common lap band procedure requires the surgeon to enter the body through the abdomen and this inevitably leaves a scar. POSE is surgery performed using an endoscope. This is a device pushed down the throat and into the stomach without any need for an incision. Once inside the stomach, there are tools operated remotely by the surgeon. This allows the stomach walls to be sutured, reducing available space by about one-third. Thus, the effect is the same as in conventional surgery. Patients begin to feel full minutes after starting to eat. Thus, for those who have vanity issues and want to achieve a “body beautiful”, this form of surgery promotes weight loss without scars.
For the purposes of the trial, only people who have a long history of weight problems are being considered. But, if the trial proves a long-term success, you will probably see this type of procedure heavily advertized for people of all weights. It’s not our policy to argue people should not have surgery. There may come a time when people prove themselves so lacking in will power to diet and exercise that physically preventing them from overeating is the only way of saving their lives. But what does concern us is the notion that surgery should become the normal response to weight problems. As a nation, do we really want to spend millions of dollars every year on surgery when the solution to the problem is a diet, physical exercise and phentermine? Just think for a moment. Phentermine is an effective appetite suppressant. Why do people using it not lose weight in the long term? Because they continue to eat massive portions of unhealthy food. People are unable to prevent themselves from overeating. What does that say about the character of Americans? We have become a nation of food junkies, so addicted to eating, we cannot stop even when we know it’s killing us.