The medical establishment posits that Bariatric surgery is the newest and most effective way to combat issues with weight in our society. As previously explained in this blog, our bodies have adapted to the environment created by the food industry, namely processed foods meant to appeal to our most powerful tastes and that also wreak havoc on our metabolism. Rather than face the public health crisis caused by the food industry, surgery, which is now covered by insurance, is the solution of the moment.
The increase in average weight in the country is linked to worsening health. However, this link is questioned by many authorities. Movements like Health at Every Size present substantial evidence that proves otherwise. The power of the food industry has convinced society and doctors that people are to be blamed for their weight which causes poor health and that these people need help to fix their weight problem. There are medications meant to counteract this scourge which have limited benefit, but surgery is the increasingly common recommendation as a quick fix.
Bariatric surgery is essentially anatomical anorexia. Gastric sleeve surgery, the newest iteration, surgically separates 80-90% of one’s stomach leaving a very small, crescent shaped stomach. The result is the physical inability to manage no more than a few bites at every meal, at least for the first 6-12 months after surgery. The Bariatric surgical centers focus solely on weight loss. Their success is measured by the number of patients who lose a certain percentage of body weight over the first year or two. Long-term results, let alone overall health, are secondary.
But surgery essentially leads to drastic food restriction over a long period of time. By any other definition, this looks like anorexia. Any starvation, however it is imposed, can lead to very strong hunger that triggers overeating or binging. Also, restriction over a period of time leads to malnutrition no matter the weight of the person. The surgical programs don’t consider overall nutrition or the health consequences of such prolonged limited eating. Instead, they focus on improved blood sugar and blood pressure, metrics that increase insurance coverage. What benefit is there to swap one set of medical issues for another?
Based on how easy it is to sway medical opinion—the continued manipulation by the pharmaceutical industry is the clearest example, it’s not surprising that other more powerful forces have convinced medicine to take this approach to treat larger patients. But how is it that thousands of fat people blame themselves so much that they endure risky surgery time and again? Why is it that no one is questioning this barbaric practice? I’ll address this in the next post.
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