Everyone seems to be talking about the latest craze in weight reduction surgery--Gastric Banding--which basically alters your stomach's anatomy to help you reduce the amount of food it takes to fill you up.
In Gastric Banding, an adjustable band (essentially a silicone belt) is strapped around the upper part of your stomach. This effectively reduces your stomach to golf ball size, so it can only contain about an ounce of food. With a stomach that small, you'll feel full sooner, your appetite will wane, and you'll gradually shed those unwanted pounds.
The good thing about the Lap-Band system is that it's reversible and adjustable. The band is connected to a port that's situated just under your skin. This allows the band to be inflated with saline, which tightens the band to speed up weight loss; conversely, the band can be deflated (by removing saline) to reduce any side effects.
Are you a candidate for Lap-Band? According to guidelines set forth by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), if your Body Mass Index (BMI) is above 40 (the equivalent of being about 100 pounds overweight for men and 80 pounds overweight for women), and diet and exercise have failed, a Lap-Band might be able to help you.
If you're really considering getting a Lap-Band, check out this Lap Band video, which details the procedure.
For another perspective on bariatric surgery in general, check out my article, Overweight and Overlooked.
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Alex A. Kecskes has written hundreds of published articles on health/fitness, "green" issues, TV/film entertainment, restaurant reviews and many other topics. As a former Andy/Belding/One Show ad agency copywriter, he also writes web content, ads, brochures, sales letters, mailers and scripts for national B2B and B2C clients.
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