Surgery or not? Be AWARE!

Lately, I have been looking through the web and trying to search for ways to cure obesity. And I have came by a site which attracted me at first!

And here it is...

SLIMBAND!

When I clicked into this website, this is what I saw!

This is a program that helps people “cure” obesity by doing  laparoscopic surgery which is an abdominal surgery where they perform small incisions in your abdominals and insert mini cameras and other instruments inside your body. After the surgery is performed, your body will start to lose weight.

This website sounds promising, and I can’t say that this method does not work, but you have to be aware of many things they state. 

Let me show you some things to be aware of:

• One of the benefits of this program is, “No counting calories. No eliminating food groups. No more worries about ‘cheating'," and that is because we don't consume that much food. However, the food we consume may be highly caloric and calories is an important factor contributing to our body weight and to show that, CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) provided a chart stating how we can maintain our weight, gaining and losing weight. 
• They have emphasized continuously that after the surgery, we are able to eat any types of food whenever we want, and that this won’t affect us from gaining back the weight, but this doesn't mean that we don't have to follow the Canadian Food Guide, in fact, the Canadian Food Guide is for you to follow in order to maintain healthy!
• Under the FAQ page, it states that they have to perform a laparoscopic surgery on the client and what they did was only explaining what they will do during the surgery, no further explanation. However, in the website of SAGES, it listed out a lot MORE information regarding the risks and consequences about this surgery.
• On their website they state, "If you qualify for most elective surgeries, you are a candidate for laparoscopic surgery." The truth is, not EVERYONE qualifies for this program! The laparoscopic surgery is only for people that have a serious problem with obesity, but Slimband intends to promote this surgery to everyone that want to lose weight.
• They also showed statistics about how much weight you can lose in a 12 month period, but does that mean you are losing weight in a healthy style? Indeed, many people talked about their experiences about losing weight, but most of these examples seem unreasonable; the highest number of pounds lost had reached above 100lbs/year! This is too good to be true!

You can lose up to 72% of your body weight in a year!!!

Many of these examples sound unrealistic

Many websites, up to a point, lack credibility because they want to attract customers to earn money; you have to be careful in which ones you look at and read everything they post! Moreover, at teens health, they say, “Being healthy is really about being at a weight that is right for YOU!”

Overall, this website is very attracting and shows another method for you to consider in curing obesity, but just be really clear of what they are doing. If you do decide to join their program, remember to do a lot of background research and ask your doctor questions to double check the reliability! 

Reference List:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2011, Feburary 15). Healthy weight – it’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle: Balancing calories. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/calories/index.html

Health Canada. (2011, March 07). Food and nutrition: Eating well with Canada’s food guide. Retrieved from http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/index-eng.php

Slimband Inc. (2011). Slimband. Retrieved from www.slimband.com

Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons. (2011). Laparoscopic surgery for severe obesity. Retrieved from http://www.sages.org/publication/id/PI15/

Teens Health. (2011). Finding a healthy weight. Retrieved from http://teenshealth.org/teen/food_fitness/dieting/lose_weight_safely.html