Childhood Obesity - Do you have an overweight child? We offer tips to help your child lose weight and get fit!

The My Overweight Child blog will help you keep informed about the latest research, findings, and resources available to parents of overweight or obese kids. There are many knowledgeable people working on the increasingly dire problem of childhood obesity - and we want to give parents a place where they can check in regularly to see the latest studies and tips available to help you help your child lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

We invite you to add your comments - if you have feedback for the blog, would like some specific topics covered, or you just want to share your experience as a parent dealing with childhood obesity.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

One Year After Weight Loss Surgery, Severely Obese Teens Still Overweight

Waiting too long to have surgery for obesity may mean that a severely obese teenager will not achieve normal weight, according to a new study from the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.
  • Dr. Thomas Inge and his colleagues studied 61 teenagers a year after they had gastric bypass surgery, an operation that involves stapling the upper portion of the stomach to create a small pouch that restricts the amount of food a person can eat at one time.
  • The group that was the most overweight managed to lose nearly 40 percent of their body mass index (BMI), but that did not mean they achieved a medically-recommended weight.
  • The ones who had the lowest BMIs going into surgery had the lowest BMIs a year after the surgery.
Having the weight loss surgery did help the teenagers reduce their blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and triglycerides.

The study appeared in the Journal of Pediatrics.

Labels: obese teens, weight loss surgery, gastric bypass

Posted By: Aspen/CRC