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The weight problem in the United States has been long in the making. Nearly three-quarters of the adult population is now either overweight or has obesity.
These days, the hope is that the collective weight problem will start to become a thing of the past as there are more options for people to lose meaningful weight. Heading this list are two highly effective solutions — weight loss surgery and the emerging class of GLP-1 weight loss drugs.
If your weight tips the scales too high and you’re looking to take charge of your health through weight loss, the experienced team of general surgeons at Rockwall Surgical Specialists can help. We offer bariatric surgery for people who can benefit from significant weight loss, but we recognize that this approach isn't for everyone. Here’s what you should know.
In the US, between 250,000 and 280,000 Americans undergo weight loss surgery each year, and most with great success.
The most common weight loss surgery is the gastric sleeve, a procedure in which we remove between 60% and 80% of your stomach. Not only does this shrink the available space so you eat less, but we also remove the portion of your stomach that releases hunger hormones so your appetite is reduced.
As a result, people who undergo this type of weight loss surgery realize impressive benefits, such as losing 60% to 70% of their excess weight. As well, many people can reverse the course of their health and move away from chronic conditions like diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
And these results go the distance because we make permanent changes to your digestive anatomy that promote healthier weight ranges. This is why bariatric surgery is often a great choice for people whose health is at risk and who have a BMI of 35 or higher.
GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) weight loss drugs are all the rage right now because they can be very effective in helping people to lose weight. These medications curb your appetite, slow digestion, and regulate blood sugar, which help you work toward losing weight.
You take most GLP-1 medications weekly via injection. With the help of these drugs, people are losing between 10% and 20% of their overall body weight.
To undergo bariatric surgery, you need to be in good health, and this isn’t always the case when people have obesity and related complications. In these cases, GLP-1 medications may provide a better option if you’re not healthy enough for surgery.
If you want to compare results and how long they last, the pendulum swings toward weight loss surgery. A recent study reports that people who underwent bariatric surgery lost an average of 24% of their total weight at the two-year mark. At that same mark, people using GLP-1 drugs lost only 7% of their body weight.
The reality is that weight loss drugs aren’t designed to be a one-off — if you stop taking them and go back to old eating habits, the weight comes back. Conversely, most people can sustain their great weight loss results after bariatric surgery.
We also want you to consider that weight loss drugs can come with side effects, such as nausea, stomach cramping, and diarrhea. In fact, only about 40% of people who take GLP-1 medications can do so on an extended basis because they don’t experience these side effects. The rest stop taking the drug and, often, quickly put the weight back on and end up right where they started.
Ultimately, this is a decision that only you can make, and we’re here to help guide you. Each approach has its benefits, but neither is a magic bullet. You still need to commit yourself to weight loss, and these solutions are only aids to what should be a change in eating and exercise habits on your part.
If you’d like to sit down with one of our specialists to go over the details about weight loss surgery options, we invite you to call the Rockwall Surgical Specialists team at 972-412-7700. You can also use our online form to set up an appointment in Rockwall, Rowlett, Greenville, Terrell, or Forney, Texas.
