Overweight or not?

Well it depends on who is asking?  If it is your insurance company, they are probably going off of BMI alone and a recent study from UCLA finds that 54 million Americans may have been mislabeled as obese or overweight, according to the LA Times.  

Despite conventional wisdom, research has shown that people with high BMI's can actually be in great shape and those with  "healthy" BMI's can be unhealthy.  A. Janet Tomiyama, the study's lead author,  reports that cholesterol, triglyceride levels, bp, and blood sugar were analyzed along with BMI.  Unfortunately, new rules proposed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, could see millions of Americans unnecessarily penalized financially.  

A more accurate measure may be a combination of BMI & Body Fat percentage along with analysis of key health markers. The testing is more involved, but it is better indicator of a person's fitness level.  Two people may look similar, and have the same BMI, but they could actually have very different body fat amounts. 

The big commonly known fault with BMI, and the reason behind its generality, is that the number does not take muscle mass into account. This makes BMI misleading in two ways:

• Firstly, a person who is underweight or normal on the BMI scale may still have a high percentage of body fat, meaning a lower level of fitness.
• On the flip side, a person with a large amount of muscle mass, for example a football player or bodybuilder, could be told by the BMI ranking that he or she is morbidly overweight, when the individual in fact has a low percent body fat and high fitness level.

The bottom line is that BMI is a general overview and should only be an introductory assessment of a person's body composition.  It's perhaps useful when more involved testing is not available.  For more truth behind the matter, look at percent body fat.

Side Effects Of Gastric Bypass Surgery | Weight Loss Surgery

Obesity is a condition where a person has accumulated so much body fat that it might have a negative effect on their health. If a person’s body weight is at least 20% higher than it should be, he or she is considered obese. These days many people are suffering from obesity. But, those who have extreme obesity are going for Gastric bypass surgery to reduce the weight....

What is Gastric by-pass surgery?

Gastric bypass is surgery involves a surgical operation which reduces the size of the stomach. After the surgery, your stomach will be smaller. You will feel full with less food. The food you eat will no longer go into some parts of your stomach and small intestine that absorb food.

This surgery is performed on the people those who are suffering from extreme obesity. However, there are many side effects depending on the extensity of the operation. Here are some of the most common effects of surgery.

Side Effects of Gastric by-pass surgery:

1. Allergic reactions

The person who undergone may experience allergic reactions which may lead to death if these reactions are severe.

2. Hair Loss

Due to increased levels of vitamins, most of the patients experience hair loss with on short period of time.

3. Gallstones

These are small stones of cholesterol formed in the gall bladder or bile passages. They can be created following rapid weight loss which leads to their development in as many as 1/3 of bariatric surgery patients. They do not cause symptoms but can be very irritating and lead to intense pain in the abdomen, nausea and vomiting.

4. Kidney Stones

The risk of developing kidney stones increases after bariatric surgery due to changes in digestion and the resulting changes in the chemical makeup of patients urine.

5. Complications of pregnancy

As there will be a vitamin deficiency after the surgery patients may experience pregnancy complications and in some cases, the gastric banding has to be loosened every time throughout the pregnancy period.

6. Indigestion

This is also called dyspepsia. It is the inability to digest or difficulty in digesting food, the incomplete or imperfect digestion of food or a case or attack of indigestion marked especially by a burning sensation or discomfort in the upper abdomen. This occurs in a short period after the surgery and can be reverted by having to change your diet which includes avoiding greasy foods and limiting the intake of certain drinks and alcohol. Other medicine should also be avoided such as aspirin.

7. Intolerance to certain foods, beverages and drugs

Following the reduction of stomach size and digestive system, there will be certain foods, beverages and drugs that you’ll need to avoid and certain diet habits you’ll need to maintain. Certain drinks and beverages will have to be limited as they can cause an effect on the gastric by-pass and eventually result to ulcers. Alcohol should be limited as some alcoholic drinks may contain a lot of calories which lead to overturning effects.

8. Gastric band slippage

This occurs in 70% of patients and occurs when the stomach banding slips out of position leading to an enlarged stomach pouch. This often results in nausea, heartburn and vomiting.

9. Dental Problems

With this surgery swallowing can become quite a task especially when you eat too quickly, or try to swallow food that is not chewed enough.

10. Food Intolerance

This is quite common after weight loss surgery as the body is unable to tolerate certain foods such as red meat or green salad resulting in other symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease.

11. Blood Clots

After this surgery blood clots which is also known as deep vein thrombosis (for the legs) and pulmonary embolism (for the lungs) is common and affects 1 in every 100 people.

Gastric by-pass surgery has all these side effects. It can be used as an optional one if you are suffering from extreme obesity. Another option is to use HCG diet drops as these drops are made from natural HCG hormone which is produced during early pregnancy stages. Also, there are no side effects by following the HCG diet plan. By using HCG drops one can lose the weight as early as possible and it is the safe method.