Blog

Ask any of our patients … they will tell you that how vastly different their lives were before and after weight-loss surgery. When it comes to quality of life, there is no comparison. Their confidence, comfort, optimism and energy level have improved dramatically. They can do things they never could do before, and they’re excited about that. Without exception, they all say they wish they took action earlier.

You can find many of their stories throughout this blog and website. If you’re considering weight-loss surgery, we encourage you to read them.

Also worth viewing is the recent groundbreaking HBO documentary, entitled “The Weight of the Nation,” which sheds light on causes of obesity and how it has become an epidemic in the United States.

The numbers are staggering: According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s most recent survey of America’s health, released in January of this year, almost 32% of 2- to 19-year-olds and nearly 69% of adults in America are overweight or obese.

Why? There are many factors. One is portion size. In just 20 years, many commercial food items have doubled or tripled in size. The average bagel was three inches wide in 1983 and six inches wide in 2003. An order of fries back averaged 2.4 ounces in 1983 and 6.9 ounces in 2003.

The average muffin has more than tripled in size — from 1.5 ounces in 1984 to five ounces in 2004. And not only have chocolate chip cookies grown from 1.5 inches across to 3.5 inches, the average number of calories per cookie is five times higher.

Here’s another jarring comparison: The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the largest funder of work in this country on childhood obesity, spends $100 million a year on the problem. The food industry spends that amount every year by Jan. 4, just marketing junk food — just to children.

And how about this … Daily physical education is now offered in only 4% of our elementary schools, 8% of our middle schools and 2% of our high schools.

These facts are not meant to depress you — or to provide excuses. To the contrary, while it may sometimes feel that you are facing your tough challenges alone, you’re not.

And while it may seem like the odds are stacked against anyone trying to achieve a healthy weight, there are steps that you can take to beat the odds. Perhaps the most reassuring fact presented in the documentary is the enormous health benefits that you can achieve by losing just 10 percent of your weight.

However, if you’ve tried the diet and exercise programs and you’re still morbidly obese, that’s the time to reach out to the team at New York Bariatric for help. If you have any questions or would like to make an appointment to see one of our surgeons, call our office at (516) 616-5500, or click on “Live Chat” in the upper left corner of your screen to have a conversation now.

You may be just one phone call away from the start of an exciting, new future.