Warning against “quick fix” in weight loss

A report is warning that many patients, who resort to “quick fix” methods of achieving weight loss such as gastric bands, are not receiving the proper care and attention they need.
The report, entitled “Too lean a service”, comes from the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death, led by doctors. It studied 357 cases out of 3,280 bariatric surgery patients over a six-month period and the findings revealed that two-thirds of patients who had operations to try and prevent them overeating were not getting the best possible care, with particular concern expressed for those choosing to go to private clinics which advertise weight loss in the same way as they try and sell plastic surgery.

The report stresses that weight loss surgery such as gastric bands has significant long-term consequences and patients should receive advice on diet and psychological counselling which often does not happen. Ian Martin, co-author of the report, said that bariatric surgery is a radical procedure with considerable risks as well as benefits and it should not be carried out without the patient having access to full information and support.

Martin wants to see improvements and has called for a code of conduct for weight-loss adverts, however he stresses that the treatment, when done properly can be very effective. A separate study, from the US, on 20,000 people who had surgery, found that on average patients halved the excess weight they were carrying and also significantly reduced their chances of having a stroke or heart failure.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/oct/18/weight-loss-surgery-care-r...