Find Out More About Lap Band

You've probably heard about the Lap band procedure for major weight loss, but maybe you haven't gotten much more information about it.

The Lap Band is a minimally invasive -- the least invasive -- surgical weight-loss option because it uses laparoscopic techniques that use tiny incisions rather than a large incision. The procedure can be performed as an outpatient (day-stay) procedure.

The procedure reduces stomach capacity, restricting the amount of food that can be consumed at one time. The band is locked securely in a ring around the stomach, creating a small stomach pouch that can hold a smaller amount of food so food storage in the stomach is reduced.

Journey Lite performs the Lap Band procedure and they pride themselves on expertise in caring for all the physical and emotional needs of the seriously overweight patient.

Visit the Journey Lite website to learn more. Please remember to discuss any weight loss options with your personal physician first.

This was a sponsored post.

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Researcher Argues Most Physicians Aren't Prepared to Deal With Obesity Epidemic

The soaring obesity rates across the globe have been called the most critical challenge to public health of the 21st century. A university researcher argues that most physicians are not adequately prepared to deal with this obesity epidemic.


In an article published in Canadian Family Physician, University of Alberta researcher Tim Caulfield examines the vital role physicians play in managing and identifying obesity and highlights the obstacles these physicians must overcome when treating obese patients. Caulfield, who is the Canada Research Chair in Health Law at the U of A and professor and research director in public health sciences, is recognized as one of the foremost experts in health law research in Canada.

In North America, physicians have a legal obligation to provide their patients with a reasonable standard of care, says Caulfield. By law, overweight and obese patients are entitled to the same level of care as the general public; however, there are reasons to believe this patient population is not, in some circumstances, receiving optimal care and advice.

Available data indicates that many physicians do not have the skills and knowledge to address obesity. According to Caulfield, this could contribute to substandard care in the way obesity is handled and in the way obese patients are treated.

"Family physicians play a crucial role in identifying and managing obesity," says Caulfield. "As the rates of obesity become more prevalent, we need to recognize and become aware of the issues that can reduce liability and improve the care of these patients."

Caulfield notes that earlier studies have found that most physicians (83 percent) were less likely to perform physical examinations on reluctant obese patients, and 17 percent admitted reluctance to perform pelvic exams on obese patients. One study found that one-fourth of physicians think that they are not at all or only slightly competent recommending treatment for obese patients.


As obesity rises, Caulfield notes, so will the number of malpractice suits. "By identifying the legal issues that may come with treating these patients, it will become easier for family physicians to address weight management."

Steps should be taken, according to Caulfield, to ensure family physicians have the skills, tools and resources necessary to satisfy their legal duties and to optimize their role in managing this complex public health concern.

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Drug Dosages Often Incorrect for Obese Patients

As if severely overweight people didn’t already have enough health concerns, experts are raising another red flag – the possibility that some of their prescription medications, especially antibiotics, may not be prescribed at the appropriate dosage and could be ineffective.

Because most adult antibiotics are produced in a “one size fits all” dosage and some doctors are not attuned to this issue, the societal trend towards severe obesity is resulting in more individuals who get inappropriate drug therapies for infectious disease, a new study in the journal Pharmacotherapy suggests.

“The number of individuals with the highest body mass index, very obese people, is up 600 percent between 1986 and 2000,” says David Bearden, a clinical associate professor in the College of Pharmacy at Oregon State University.

“Very obese individuals in some cases, even those with severe infections, may be getting only half the necessary dose of a prescription drug such as an antibiotic,” Bearden said. “That’s a problem. It could lead not only to antibiotic failure but also an increase in antibiotic resistance, another serious issue.”

The problem is somewhat less of a concern with dosages of medications that patients take for extended periods, such as blood pressure or cholesterol medications, because the results of taking those medications are more routinely monitored and dosages can be increased as necessary. It’s a particular concern with antibiotics, Bearden says, because they are often used to treat severe or even life-threatening infections, and “bad things can happen quickly if the drug is ineffective.”

Drug companies are just now becoming more aware of this issue and beginning to test and recommend dosages more appropriate for adults of varying weights, Bearden says. But with older drugs that are commonly used, there often is very little or no data for adjusting dosages. In actual practice the issue is often ignored outright, or “educated guesses” are made with whatever data is available.

Without more attention, the issue may only get worse, and it’s not just a U.S. phenomenon. The World Health Organization estimates that 400 million people were obese in 2005 and that the total will increase to 700 million by 2015. It considers these numbers a “global pandemic” that is affecting low, middle and high-income nations around the world. Obesity is also considered an independent risk factor for surgical site infections and is associated with higher mortality rates in critically ill patients.

Even if the problem is carefully considered, Bearden says, it’s not simple.

“It would be nice if we could just use a simple multiplier to adjust drug dosages for overweight people,” Bearden says. “But it’s not that easy. There are a lot of factors that affect drug distribution in the body, including age, weight, kidney function, other disease problems and the type of antibiotic or other drug.”

Adipose tissue, or body fat, affects how the human body interacts with drugs. With some drugs it absorbs large amounts of a prescription medication, but with others, it doesn’t. And sometimes there is a very fine line between a drug being effective at one dose, ineffective if the dose is too low, and toxic if it’s too high. All of these issues affect appropriate dosages, and in many situations, the data needed to evaluate the problem simply doesn’t exist.

The issue of adjusted drug dosages has been known and addressed in children for decades, experts say, because of the obvious distinction between a 30-pound toddler and a 120-pound youngster. But with adults, far less attention has been given the problem. The medical and pharmaceutical industries often just assume that everyone weighs about 150-170 pounds.

“This is enough of an issue that if I were a very obese person being given an antibiotic, I would discuss it with my doctor,” Bearden says. “Hopefully the doctor will already have considered it and will be able to address your concerns. If not, then it’s a conversation you need to have, and more medical specialists, including pharmacists, may need to be consulted.”

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How We Can Stop Stress From Making Us Obese

Herbert Herzog, Director of the Neuroscience Research Program at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, together with scientists from the US and Slovakia, have shown that neuropeptide Y (NPY), a molecule the body releases when stressed, can ‘unlock’ Y2 receptors in the body’s fat cells, stimulating the cells to grow in size and number. By blocking those receptors, it may be possible to prevent fat growth, or make fat cells die.

“We have known for over a decade that there is a connection between chronic stress and obesity,” says Herzog. “We also know that NPY plays a major role in other chronic stress-induced conditions, such as susceptibility to infection. Now we have identified the exact pathway, or chain of molecular events, that links chronic stress with obesity.”

“There is not much we can do about the increased levels of NPY caused by stress, but we can do something about the damage it causes. If we can interfere before it causes fat to amass, it could have a major impact on cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer (which all have links with obesity).”

“Basically, when we have a stress reaction, NPY levels rise in our bodies, causing our heart rate and blood pressure to go up, among other things. Stress reactions are normal, unavoidable, and generally serve a useful purpose in life. It’s when stress is chronic that its effects become damaging.”

Scientists at Georgetown University in Washington D.C, part of this collaborative study, have found a direct connection between stress, a high calorie diet and unexpectedly high weight gain. Stressed and unstressed mice were fed normal diets and high calorie (high fat and high sugar, or so called ‘comfort food’) diets. The mice on normal diets did not become obese. However, stressed mice on high calorie diets gained twice as much fat as unstressed mice on the same diet. The novel and unexpected finding was that when stressed and non-stressed animals ate the same high calorie foods, the stressed animals utilised and stored fat differently.

“Our findings suggest that we may be able to reverse or prevent obesity caused by stress and diet, including the worst kind of obesity; the apple-shaped type, which makes people more susceptible to heart disease and diabetes,” says senior author of the Nature Medicine paper, Professor Zofia Zukowska of Georgetown University. “Using animal models, in which we have either blocked the Y2 receptor, or selectively removed the gene from the abdominal fat cells, we have shown that stressed mice on high calorie diets do not become obese. “Even more surprisingly, in addition to having flatter bellies, adverse metabolic changes linked to stress and diet, which include glucose intolerance and fatty liver, became markedly reduced. We do not know yet exactly how that happens, but the effect was remarkable,” she says.

Herzog believes that these research findings will have a profound effect on the way society will deal with the obesity epidemic. “There are millions of people around the world who have lived with high levels of stress for so long their bodies think it’s ‘normal’. If these people also eat a high fat and high sugar diet, which is what many do as a way to reduce their stress, they will become obese.”

“Until now, the pharmaceutical industry has focused on appetite suppressants with only moderate success. Our hope is that in the near future pharmaceutical companies, using the results of our research, will develop antagonists against the Y2 receptor that will bring about a reduction in fat cells.”






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Foundation Announces $500 Million Commitment to Reverse Childhood Obesity in U.S.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) today announced it will commit at least $500 million over the next five years to tackle one of the most urgent public health threats facing the United States: childhood obesity. This is the largest commitment by any foundation to this issue, RWJF says. The foundation's goal is to reverse the epidemic of childhood obesity in the United States by 2015.

During the past four decades, obesity rates have soared among all age groups, more than quadrupling among children ages 6 to 11. Today, more than 33 percent of children and adolescents -- approximately 25 million kids -- are overweight or obese.

Preventing obesity during childhood is critical, because habits that last into adulthood frequently are formed during youth. Research shows that overweight adolescents have up to an 80 percent chance of becoming overweight or obese adults. Earlier onset of obesity leads to the earlier onset of related illnesses, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and certain types of cancer.

In addition to the toll on U.S. health, obesity also poses a tremendous financial threat to the U.S. economy and health care system. It's estimated that the obesity epidemic costs the United States $117 billion per year in direct health care costs and lost productivity. Childhood obesity alone carries a huge price tag -- up to $14 billion per year in direct healthcare costs to treat kids.

"This is an all-American crisis," says Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., M.B.A., president and CEO of RWJF. "It affects all Americans, and it will require all of America working together to turn it around. Our commitment is a call to action for families, schools, government, industry, healthcare and philanthropy. To reverse the obesity epidemic and create a culture of health, we must provide families with better access to healthy choices."

The foundation says it will focus on improving access to affordable healthy foods and opportunities for safe physical activity in schools and communities. It will place special emphasis on reaching children at greatest risk for obesity and related health problems: African-American, Latino, Native American, Asian American and Pacific Islander children living in low-income communities.

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