Active Low-Carber Forums - View Single Post - Obesity crisis 'will lead to children having their stomachs stapled'

Quote:

Originally Posted by Demi

The Telegraph
London, UK
16 May, 2008

Obesity crisis 'will lead to children having their stomachs stapled'

Primary school children could soon be undergoing stomach-stapling surgery as Britain's obesity epidemic worsens, a senior medical director has warned.

...

At present, weight-loss surgery is only performed on adults when all other methods have failed. Although the procedure can lead to complications, Dr Ryan believes that for some children it will prove the best option.

"In the not too distant future I think we will be starting to consider surgery on children who are grossly overweight," he said. "In adults it is one of the things that can be very effective indeed, but it is a drastic step.

"Clearly you are not going to dive in and do that for children without a lot of careful consideration, but it would be an option. We have not performed any procedures yet, but a hospital like this one would probably be asked to. I would say it is almost certain."

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...stapled%27.html

I find this very disturbing. I understand obesity in children is bad - (IMO - more so for self-image than health). But surgery for children? Especially surgery that is considered elective by many? A doctor would have to get a court order to perform such a surgery on any child of mine - and then they might just have to catch me as I flee the country.

A drastic step? That's an understatement. Given the miniscule amount of food a person is allowed to eat after such a surgery, how are the children supposed to get the nutrients and such they require as growing children. I suppose they could just take a vitamin - but that's not the best source of nutrients.

The article says it itself - in adults this type of surgery is considering a last resort. Why would a doctor consider this for a child in the manner obviously contemplated in this article (by this doctor) when a simple change in eating (cut out the junk food, sugary drinks, cakes and biscuits, etc.) would take care of the problem?

Not that lap-banding or stomach stapling is a quick resolution, but I think this is indicative of society's general attitude - of not wanting to take responsibility for itself and wanting an 'easy' solution.

Now that you get that I am opposed to such a procedure for children, I do wonder if the side effects from such a surgery seen in adults would be seen in children. Children tend to be more resilient ...