To Sweat or Bleed to look like a Cover Model

In the 21st century it isn’t uncommon to be bombarded with the ideal body that we should all strive to achieve. It is plastered on everything we see, from the movies that we watch to standing in the checkout line at the grocery store. We are told how we should look every which way we turn.

Every year we hear and see the same old thing, what it seems to be a million people saying that their new years resolution is to lose weight or get in shape. According to a Dorthy.com poll 63% of people adopting a resolution listed weight loss as their primary goal (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dorthycom-reveals-second-annual-new-years-resolution-study-results-and-launches-new-planning-tool-80197492.html).

So how is one supposed to achieve these goals, and what intervention method would be most appropriate. How does one’s set of values determine whether they grit their teeth and hit the gym while adjusting their diet accordingly or whether they take the plunge under the surgical knife and undergo weight loss surgery. I think we all know most other methods simply do not provide the long-term lifestyle changes that one desires. I’ve attempted a month long of protein shakes-called the Velocity diet- and gave up during week one so it is easy to see why it is easy to become attracted to the seemingly easy out that many perceive as weight loss surgery. So what is acceptable by the general public for weight loss?

Regardless of your personal views, in general the majority of people perceive those undertaking the surgery as lazy people that do not want to workout. I feel the reason this is so, is in American culture we are used to being told that if you work hard you will accomplish any goal that you set your mind to. Weight loss surgery throws a huge wrench into this concept and we see people putting in no effort and obtaining nothing short of stellar results.

http://gastricbypasstruth.com/about/ This blog is about a woman named Lisa. She blogs about her experiences before and after her weight loss surgery. The reason I chose this article is because it shows little, if any, bias. Her blog does end up portraying weight loss surgery in a positive manner, but attempts to show the real world reality that there are many sacrifices that are still going to occur. It shows how she once perceived weight loss surgery, like many of us, as the magic bullet. She does explain that basically everyone that undergoes the surgery will lose weight.

As a species we constantly judge others and it is likely a behavior that we have evolved with to assess risks and size people up quickly to ensure our survival. So it isn’t completely unheard of to think of another person as just taking short-cuts when we talk to someone we do not know well that they are considering the surgery. We likely label them with a poor work ethic and many other undesirable traits. However, we haven’t walked a mile in their shoes. We haven’t tried the endless diets, the countless failed hours in the gym, and many of the hardships that these individuals have faced. The overall goal of her blog is to educate those considering doing the surgery. She makes sure to tell us that it is not going to fix all of our problems. She gives us the low down that it is really going to mess with your mind because all the seemingly endless drama in your life is not going to be fixed once you lose weight. If you have trouble communicating with your significant other, that issue won’t disappear if you are 100 pounds thinner.

http://gastricbypasstruth.com/ On this page the first video clip at the top of the page really isn’t what you would expect on a blog supporting the surgery. A video about suicides after surgery! The video isn’t a depressing story, but makes sure that those serious about surgery also seek clinical psychiatric help to ensure that their depression and other underlying issues are solved that led them on to the path of obesity are fixed. One thing I found the most shocking was that she tells us all, if you feel self-conscious in a size 24, you will still feel bad when you are wearing a size 12. If you have poor self-esteem and are insecure, no amount of weight loss is going to instantly improve the health of your mind. She says that she feels amazing overall, but later tells us this is when her clothes are on. Lisa tells us that the weight loss has wrecked havoc on the way her skin looks and especially under her clothes. Again, reminding us that you will still have issues with the way you feel about your body after surgery.

Is it up to ambition?

As we all know, the obesity rate in the United States is growing rapidly, in all age groups. Many people are choosing to resort to medical procedures to cut down their weight. From an outsider’s perspective, we might think that this person is too lazy to go and work out or diet/eat properly, but how much of that is true? Looking at how expensive this surgery is, it’s unlikely that people just choose this route without trying other options first.

Cost wise, a personal trainer would run about $50-$100/hr and the gym membership would be about $30/month. If you meet with a personal trainer once a week for two hours at $100/session that’s $800 a month, and then $30 a month on top of that for the gym membership. If it took the average obese person three years to get in shape with a personal trainer guiding them along, only then will it cost approximately the $30,000 it takes to pay for gastric bypass surgery. (http://politicalverve.com/2011/09/10) After those three years of working out, pretty much anyone would be in tip top shape and wouldn’t need the surgery. Most people wouldn’t need three whole years of intense exercise/diet regiments to get out of the unhealthy “danger zone:” which is the main reason people need to resort to such drastic measures like medical procedures. If anyone wanting to get the surgery did any research, they would find that cost wise, exercising/getting a personal trainer would be much cheaper, and still as, if not more, effective. Besides this being the cheaper route, it doesn’t have the major risks that undergoing surgery includes. Also, what people don’t realize is that the surgery will not just make everything automatically better; it is just a step in the right direction. Often after receiving surgery many patients still need to go on diets and exercise regiments to maintain their goals (http://www.physicalfitnessarticles.net). Not only is the surgery more expensive, it has many more negative effects. In a study (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2008/12/weight-loss-sur.html) done with a surgical and non-surgical group, the surgical group not only burned less calories over the year, but also were found to have higher levels of depression and stress. This research just proves how much better the “natural” approach is.

However compelling these arguments may be, some people still choose to go with weight loss surgery so that no matter what happens, they will have a chance at losing a significant amount of weight (http://www.realresultswls.com/2011/07/16/weight-loss-surgery-more-cost-effective-than-you-may-realize/). Like our main source, (http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/10/26/8472045-desperate-to-qualify-for-weight-loss-surgery-some-pile-on-the-pounds), states some people are so desperate for this chance that they try to gain weight to have the “opportunity” to lose it. I feel that so much of the reason people are not trying as hard to lose weight through exercise and dieting is because of the media’s effect on our society. People are aware that there are easier ways of losing weight, and they decide that they’ll just go that route. There are significant sacrifices that people are not informed of before they go through this surgery, and if they aren’t prepared to make the necessary lifestyle changes within their diet and exercise, surgery is most likely going to be a waste of time and money.

Marketing

In America today, about one-third of the adult population is obese and about 17% of children are obese. These statistics have drastically increased compared to what they were twenty years ago (http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html). With this shocking increase in numbers, it is no wonder that obesity is now a mainstream news story. Today the media targets the obese population in a variety of ways. It used to be through dieting and exercise, but now we focus on weight loss surgery and which procedure will give the fastest and best results. Forget a healthy lifestyle that includes a proper diet and regular exercise because that just doesn’t work, surgery is the only option left.

Weight loss surgeries have come a long way, mostly because it is more in demand now with the rise in obesity levels, and now they are being advertised like any other “product” on the market. Many institutions that offer bariatric surgery have websites with all of the information that help you make a decision with your current situation. But now most sites will try to persuade you into choosing their “product” because that is what the surgery has become. One website I thought demonstrated this well was <http://www.realize.com/obesity-facts-rates-and-your-health.htm>. “The REALIZE Solution is not just a surgical procedure; it’s a lifestyle (http://www.realize.com/about-realize-weight-loss-surgery.htm).” The website is set up to convince you that this is your solution. They do this mostly through diction but they also use facts, testimonials, and expert opinions which is what everyone wants to hear. Not many people would go into a surgery that had no science behind it or few successful outcomes. They also attack counter arguments by saying that traditional treatments don’t work, ie diet and exercise, and their solution is better. You just have to REALIZE it. They are subliminally getting you to remember their “product” by using REALIZE (capitalized) over and over again, just another great way of advertising. Other techniques they use include positive vs. negative imagery. They start by emphasizing the seriousness of obesity with statistics and health implications. Then they shift towards a positive light by introducing the solution, a weight loss surgery, Then they continue with the benefits of surgery and how it is more successful than other options.

In the end, these surgeries are beneficial and help out patients that are in serious need for a permanent weight loss solution, but some people don’t qualify and that’s where problems occur. Some will eat and gain a little to lose a lot, which is the basis of our original article (http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/10/26/8472045-desperate-to-qualify-for-weight-loss-surgery-some-pile-on-the-pounds). With the American lifestyle, everyone wants to have the biggest and best of whatever is next and these weight loss surgeries are feeding into that mindset.

While weight loss surgeries seem to be the quick fix or magic pill for those who comprise the climbing obesity rates, this representation does not wholly project the realities of such procedures. As alluded to before, while the surgery may fix the physical problem to a large extent, the mental/psychological problem of body image still remains and presents a challenge to those who undergo the surgery, especially for the wrong reasons.

A particular site named aptly, “drop the surgery, regain your health”, aims at disillusioning people of such medical procedures http://www.size-acceptance.org/without_measure/special/wom_isad05_page5.html. Survivor stories are told directly by the person who had undergone the surgery (surgeries in many cases). These stories presents the “other side”, the often overlooked side of these so called miracle procedures and attests to the axiom that there are no free lunches or quick, magical fixes. These surgeries are expensive, and while they do remove the weight from an individual and place them in category of healthy BMI individuals, the side effects as well the underlying fact of there being no inherent lifestyle change often lead the surgery to be a one time fix. A year or several years later, many individuals find themselves in the same situation as they were before the surgery, the weight having crept back.

Some particular stories that resonated told of weight regained, special diets pursued, interest in life lost, other health related problems such as hernias introduced, and functionality of body parts reduced. Some survivors of these procedures spoke spiritually and theologically about the experience, placing emphasis on the fact that this was their punishment for cheating nature. They also used the analogy that we all do not know what god looks like, but we all worship him, hence an individual should accept themselves as they are and people will love them for who they are. These stories are told from a psychological standpoint it seems. While individuals should definitely accept themselves for who they are, they should also be healthy to pursue a long, prosperous life. Again, this site emphasizes the consequences and disadvantages of such weight loss surgeries to the extent that the benefits are mentioned sparsely if at all.

Another source that is aimed at disillusionment of people of such medical procedures is one written directly by the performer of the surgery. This gives a credible background to the points stated, as it is from the viewpoint of a person who has an objective viewpoint coming from a medical professional http://www.drsharma.ca/obesity-why-bariatric-surgery-can-fail-part-2.html.Unlike sources that are from people directly invested in the procedure such as loved ones of the patients or the patient themselves, this source presents good as well as bad points of such procedures, debunking common myths about them as well as stating less commonly advertised facts about such procedures.

In analyzing all the different sources and viewpoints out there, it is important to realize the similarities, the common underlying points as well the points in which the sources branch out into different directions. The common underlying points about weight loss surgeries seem to be that it can be a beneficial tool if approached with the correct mindset, followed up with the correct change in lifestyle, and seen as a supplement to boosting aspects of one’s life rather than the solution itself. The points in which the sources branch out is the expectations one should have before and after surgery, the impacts such surgeries can have on an individual’s life, and “is it worth it??” The common point should be kept in mind, and the differences analyzed in the context of those commonalities as well as the viewpoints the potential motivations of the authors of the sources--medical professionals seeking to advertise the procedure, survivors seeking to inform potential patients, personal trainers looking to add to their clientele by deterring them from such quick fix, artificial solutions.

Jessica Graf

Alaena Wocking

Scott Kamlah

Sneha Konda

Steven Theisen