What percentage of America’s population qualifies as medically obese? Is it 20%, 30% or more than 30%? Bariatric surgery procedures are more common, so is obesity becoming more common? Find out what the CDC said last October by reading “Wrong Way, Jose.”
Monthly Archive: January 2018
Jan 29
Obesity and Lifespan
For many years, Americans have been accustomed to reading and hearing about ever-increasing lifespans. The general trend has always been upward; in the 1800’s, life expectancy at birth was a little less than 39 years (due in part to very high infant mortality). Americans born in 2014 could expect to live almost 79 years, about …
Jan 25
Monthly Bariatric Support Group Meeting
The Monthly Bariatric Support Group Meeting is held on the 3rd Thursday of each month at 5pm. It’s located in Dr. Birkedal’s Office at Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center.
Jan 22
The Sugar Mill
Last week, this blog addressed type 2 diabetes and its epidemic increase in the United States. It is truly an epidemic, with 30.3 million Americans, or 9.4% of the population having diabetes. Americans age 65 and older were at even higher risk; 25.2% of all seniors (that is 12.0 million people) have diagnosed or undiagnosed …
Jan 18
Inguinal and Umbilical Hernia Surgery
The term, “hernia,” refers to a stretching or a bulge in a muscle wall that normally holds in the internal organs and tissues. There are several types of hernias, but they all occur because pressure pushes an organ through a weak spot in a muscle wall. Most hernias occur in the abdomen or the groin. …
Jan 17
What is a Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass?
If you skim the internet looking for information about weight loss surgery or bariatric surgery, you are very likely to come across the term, “Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass” or just, “Roux-en-Y Bypass.” If this seems like a strange name for a surgical procedure, it is partly because “Roux” refers to the name of a famous surgeon …
Jan 15
Type 2 Diabetes and its Relationship to Obesity
Diabetes is a disease that alters the body’s ability to deal with sugar. Type 1 diabetes (sometimes called “juvenile diabetes”) results from the failure of the pancreas to produce insulin, a hormone that is essential to the metabolism of sugar. Type 2 diabetes (the most common type) occurs when your body either resists the effects …
Jan 08
Insurance and Bariatric Surgery
One of the reasons people give for not considering bariatric surgery is the belief that weight loss surgery will not be covered by their insurance policy. This may or may not be true, depending on a number of factors including- The patient’s body mass index Other medical problems (comorbidities) The details of the medical insurance …
Jan 03
Wrong Way, José
Once again, it is the time of year when we promise ourselves that we are going to do better. Many overweight individuals have made this resolution repeatedly, but it does not seem to stick. Consider the next paragraph! Last October, the CDC reported that almost 40% of all Americans (including 19% of all children and …
