Latest News

Obesity and Covid-19 severity

Mon, 20 Apr 2020 10:30:00 GMT

There is increasing evidence from China that obesity, especially in men, significantly increases the risk of developing severe pneumonia in COVID-19 patients. This publication from Shenzen China demonstrated this increased risk with Covid-19 if the patient was obese.

The impact of Covid-19 on weight loss surgery

Thu, 16 Apr 2020 03:35:00 GMT

During the current pandemic all elective operating including weight loss surgery has been postponed. This has been done to preserve our PPE resources (masks, gloves, gowns etc) in anticipation of an influx of Covid-19 patients into both private and public hospitals. The masks that surgeons use are the same masks that nurses and doctors need to treat Covid-19 patients. Adelaide Bariatric Centre made an early decision to cease operating to preserve these resources.

It is imoortant however to understand that we are available for the continued care of our patients during this difficult time. Our clinic remains open and phone calls will continue to be answered.

Dietitians, clinical psychologists, bariatric physicians, clinic nurses and surgeons continue to conduct clinics to provide the ongoing support for our patients. Indeed this support has perhaps never been more important than during this period of isolation and reduced activity.

Where possible we will look to arrange consults over the phone. If patients do have to come to our clinics we will limit the number of patients in our waiting room. It goes without saying that our clinic is cleaned to the highest possible standards between each patient.

By working together we will get through this. Our clinic will always be here to support our patients.

We look forward to returning to normal activity including our surgery as soon as it is safe and appropriate to do so.

Please refer to the IFSO (International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders) recommendations for bariatric and metabolic surgery during the Covid-19 pandemic. Adelaide Bariatric Centre will be adhering to these recommendations.

How to Prepare for Bariatric Surgery

Fri, 12 Jan 2018 01:27:10 GMT

Losing weight can be a real struggle for some people, and if after intense diets and exercises you still don’t manage to lose weight or if you have reached a dangerous point of obesity your doctor might recommend or refer you for bariatric surgery.

The word surgery itself is scary for a lot of people. Depictions of surgery in television and movies, don’t exactly do a lot to dispel many myths, while in reality bariatric surgery is very non-invasive and relatively extremely safe.

A lack of information is mostly what makes something seems scarier than it is. The scientist Marie Curie once famously said “nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood…”. The goal of this article is to let you know everything you should expect before bariatric surgery and alleviate some of those irrational fears.

Who is recommended for bariatric surgery?

Every case is different, as your doctor will explain. As a general guideline, bariatric surgery is recommended for patients who:

Have a BMI (Body Mass Index) higher than 40
Have a BMI higher than 35 and also suffers from other conditions that are aggravated by the obesity. Examples include sleep apnoea, diabetes type 2 and hypertension. These conditions are called “obesity-related comorbidities”.

This means that even if your BMI is not higher than 40 you might still be recommended for surgery if you have other conditions that may be resolved when you are no longer obese.

What happens before the surgery?

A number of things need to happen before a bariatric procedure.

First of all, your doctor will ask for tests to evaluate your condition and assess the probability of any complications. These tests are taken so the doctors can make decisions on the best approach to guarantee your safety and health. Some of the tests you can expect are:

Blood tests – this is a basic before every treatment or surgery. The blood test will look for things like cholesterol levels, blood cell count, levels of vitamins as well as indicators of liver or kidney diseases.
Imaging of gallbladder – the doctor will check to see if there are any abnormalities on your gallbladder. Gallbladder disease can occur after major weight losses, especially in people who have abnormalities. If there are any, your doctor may recommend another treatment option.
Liver function tests – if your liver demonstrates some type of alterations on its function, you may expect some imaging tests to observe if there are any issues with it. Most of the time the doctors will observe steatosis (accumulation of fat on the liver), but this will often go away after weight loss.

You can also expect some other straightforward tests such as assessments of your cardiovascular function.

You should also expect an interview with a psychiatric professional. This professional will assess your mental status to help your doctor decide whether now is the best time for surgery. The psychiatric doctor will also be able to provide some post-operation support as well.

What do I need to do to prepare for bariatric surgery?

If your doctor has recommended you for bariatric surgery he will give you some specific recommendations of things to do before the surgery actually happens. These recommendations are important to make the surgery as safe as possible, avoiding any type of complications.

It is sometimes advised that the patient loses some weight before the surgery. You might be asked to lose around 5% to 10% of your weight, which can increase the safety of the surgery.

If you smoke, it is advisable to stop 30 days before the surgery to ensure you’re in optimal health for the procedure. Quitting smoking is not the easiest task, so doctors will advise that at the very least patients try to decrease the number of cigarettes that they smoke prior to the surgery.

From 1 to 2 weeks before the surgery you will be asked to maintain a liquid diet. This means that you will be able to only eat things such as protein shakes, soups (as long as they don’t have any solids in them) and juices (fruit or vegetable). It is very important to follow this diet, because your surgery may need to be postponed if you don’t.

You may also need to fast immediately prior to the surgery. Your doctor will let you know exactly when and for how long.

A week before the surgery, your doctor might also to ask you to stop taking some medicines such as birth control pills, steroids, hormones or anti-coagulation medications. However, it’s important that you don’t stop these medications without the indication of your doctor.

Your doctor may have some slightly different advice or recommendations for you, depending on your specific needs and medical history. All the exact details and more will be explained to you by your doctors and nutritionists; and if they don’t explain something you shouldn’t hesitate in asking. Being well informed is important for both your safety and for you to feel more confident with the surgery and not worry too much.

For more information, contact the team at Adelaide Bariatric Centre.

AMA Responds to Obesity Crisis

Thu, 24 Nov 2016 22:09:00 GMT

The AMA - Australian Medical Association - have updated their position statement on obesity to reflect the severity of the national obesity crisis.

Sweeping in scope and strongly worded, the updated statement argues that the crisis is so severe that it necessitates a whole-of-society approach to prevent, reduce and treat obesity.

While obesity has been recognised as a National Health Priority Area since 2008, the AMA point to a growing corpus of evidence that obesity is overtaking smoking as the leading cause of preventable death in Australia.

As well as the societal risks, the AMA is unambiguous on the personal risks of obesity:

Obesity is a major risk factor for chronic and preventable conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, stroke, musculoskeletal disorders and impaired psychosocial functioning. About 70 percent of people who are obese have at least one established morbidity, resulting in medical costs that are about 30 percent greater than those of their healthy weight peers. Many more have serious health conditions that they are unaware of, for example, it has been estimated that for every five cases of diabetes there are four undiagnosed cases.

Throughout the position paper, the AMA makes a case that the approach should be driven by government at all levels, arguing that, “Governments are unique in their capacity to influence and regulate people’s behavior of a large scale.”

According to the position paper, governments should use the full range of their powers to address the crisis; including taxation and subsidies to respectively raise the prices of “energy dense and nutrient poor food products” and make healthy options, like fresh fruit, more affordable.

Also recommended by the AMA for this whole-of-society approach are things like creating rules around the production, sale and marketing of unhealthy foods, planning towns and communities to encourage exercise, and initiating school and community based programs that provide education and incentives on healthy eating and activity practices.

Treating Obesity in Individuals

While most of the guidelines are focused on long-term strategies for the prevention and early intervention of obesity – particularly among children and Australia’s most vulnerable communities – they also contain some limited, though very telling information relating to the management and treatment of obesity for those who are already suffering from it.

The AMA’s position paper sets out six key findings relating to the individual treatment and management of obesity:

Providing patients with the skills and motivation to manage their condition should be a major goal.
The current clinical guidelines recommend that for sustainable weight loss, overweight and obese patients are encouraged by their health professionals to achieve a 600 calorie deficit per day, with 5 hours of moderate exercise per week.
Ongoing research into the most effective measures for achieving this is still needed; but
Multidisciplinary care arrangements – like the approach pioneered by Adelaide Bariatric Centre – are effective.
Treatments with weight loss drugs should have just a very limited role, if used at all, and should only be provided as part of a multidisciplinary approach.
The AMA considers bariatric surgery, which should be available publicly and privately, an “effective measure for long-term reductions in weight and improved health outcomes”.

The AMA’s support for bariatric surgery – which includes procedures like gastric bypass, laparoscopic bands and sleeves – adds further credence to a rapidly growing body of research that indicates bariatric procedures often result in the best long-term weight loss and health outcomes for people with obesity.

Learn more about your bariatric treatment options or contact us for an appointment.

Obesity Found to Reduce Life Expectancy

Mon, 14 Nov 2016 04:27:00 GMT

With ever improving standards of living, considerable advancements in medicine nutrition throughout most developed countries, it only makes sense for Australians to expect to see an increase in our life expectancy. And in fact, the Australian life expectancy has been steadily increasing for decades.

However, a recent study published in The Lancet provides evidence to suggest that these positive effects are at risk of being undermined, and these improvements potentially reversed, by Australia’s rising obesity epidemic.

The research, conducted by the Global BMI Mortality Collaboration, involved more than 10 million participants across Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and North America.

The researchers were able to prove for the first time that obesity is a major contributor to the increase of all-cause mortality.

The study shows a strong positive correlation between unhealthy BMI and increased mortality rates in every global region within the study’s scope. The risk of premature death increases by around one third for every increase in the BMI unit above the overweight range as suggested by the World Health Organization.

One potential factor is the significant number of serious medical, physical and psychosocial problems that are associated with morbid obesity. The most serious of these include Type 2 Diabetes, hypertension, coronary diseases, and even certain types of cancer - the Cancer Council estimates that 4,000 diagnoses of cancer per year in Australia are related to obesity and overweight alone.

Professor Anna Peeters of the World Health Organisation’s Collaborating Center for Obesity Prevention at Deakin University noted that this study can be applied to the population-wide issue in Australia. With over 60% of adults in the country overweight or obese, this highlights the severity of current obesity rates affecting future life expectancy. Obesity may very well be the cause of the first decrease in life expectancy in decades.

This is not merely a statistical issue. Obesity will not shave a couple of years off the life of everyone in the country equally - instead it will significantly cut short the lives of people who suffer from obesity. A 20 year old adult man with a BMI of 40 (obese as defined by the World Health Organization), if untreated, will have his life expectancy reduced by 17 years to just65.

Fortunately, solutions and treatments are available.

Among to the most effective obesity treatment options, bariatric surgery produces significant and desirable results in the long run. The gastric bypass procedure, considered the “gold standard” of weight control operation, in one such option. Gastric bypass surgery involves combining restriction and malabsorption that leads to durable and significant weight loss.

Gastric banding is a less invasive form of bariatric surgery. It utilizes an adjustable gastric band to restrict the amount of food the stomach can hold and decreasing food intake. Gastric sleeve surgery involves the permanent removal of a part of the stomach, leaving the patient with a crescent shaped sleeve that joins the esophagus and the small intestine.

These bariatric procedures can resolve weight-related co-morbidities such as diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea and hypertension, and offer improved life expectancy for obesity patients. For more information, contact Adelaide Bariatric Centre today.

Most Bariatric Patients Pleased with Surgery Outcomes

Wed, 12 Oct 2016 22:30:29 GMT

A recent Australian study into the effectiveness and viability of bariatric surgery for public health patients has found that, in addition to extremely positive health outcomes, patients are overwhelmingly satisfied with their decision to undertake the surgery.

The study, which was published in the Australia and New Zealand Journal of Surgery, followed 1,453 patients who underwent weight loss surgery – primarily laparoscopic gastric bands – at The Alfred public hospital in Melbourne over the six years following their procedures.

To be eligible for the study, patients had to have a Body Mass Index (BMI) greater than 35 as well as at least one associated health problem like high blood pressure. The average BMI of patients participating in the study was over 50, classifying them as very severely overweight and drastically increasing the likelihood of associated health problems including reduced life expectancy.

While the study aimed to discover if bariatric surgery (like the gastric band procedure) could have similar outcomes for public patients in a high-volume setting as they do for private patients, the study’s findings about patient satisfaction stand out the most.

82% of the patients reported that they would “definitely or probably” have the surgery again, 8% were undecided, and only 10% reported that they would “definitely or probably” not have the surgery again, given the choice.

In addition to the patient satisfaction, most participants in the study lost substantial amounts of weight and experienced improvements as a direct result of the procedure.

Gastric band surgery, the most popular bariatric procedure with the study’s patients, involves placing an adjustable belt around the upper portion of a patient’s stomach, effectively restricting the amount of food it can hold and slowing how quickly it empties.

By slowing and limiting the amount of food that can be eaten at any one time, for the patient, this means a lower appetite and a feeling of fullness (satiation) sooner. Ultimately, this leads to significant long-term weight loss for most patients.

Bariatric surgery is most effective when undertaken as part of a multidisciplinary weight loss program that involves bariatric physicians, dieticians, clinical psychologists, bariatric nurses and exercise physiologists.

By implementing these kinds of holistic programs, Adelaide Bariatric Centre has a strong, proven record of success managing obesity. To learn more about our treatments for obesity, click here.

Overeating Doesn’t Make You Overweight, Unhealthy Foods Do

Tue, 23 Aug 2016 01:54:00 GMT

The highly respected obesity expert, Dr. David Ludwig believes that a calorie-restricting approach to weight loss might not necessarily be the best approach to dieting.

An endocrinologist (hormone expert) at Boston Children’s Hospital and professor of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, Dr. Ludwig recently made headlines with the release of his latest book, Always Hungry?

Debunking the Low-Calorie Myth

In Always Hungry? Dr. Ludwig argues that “it’s the type of calorie you consume more than simply the number that makes you fat”. This debunking of calorie-restriction has been hugely controversial in the US, as most dietary experts - including the esteemed U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention –have been advocating the benefits of a low-calorie diet for the best part of four decades.

As Dr. Ludwig explained to Runner’s World, “the calorie in/calorie out model works for a toaster oven, but humans aren't machines. The fundamental problem in obesity isn't too many calories stored in fat, it's too few in the blood stream, where it will be available to fuel the body’s needs. When we cut back calories on a conventional low-fat diet, we only make this situation worse, creating a battle between mind and metabolism that we're destined to lose.”

Say No to Highly Processed Foods

The focus has to be on developing long-term healthy eating patterns. And according to Dr. Ludwig the low-cal, low-fat approach isn’t the way to go. Instead, the answer lies in reducing the amount of processed foods that we eat that are high in sugar and saturated fats.

With more than 63 per cent of Australians now classified as overweight, there’s little doubt that the foods we are eating are contributing to the obesity epidemic. The fundamental problem with the modern diet according to Ludwig is that it ignores biology, and that the highly processed foods that many calorie-counters eat in place of fat are actually making us heavier.

Three Foods to Avoid

Always Hungry? makes the argument that a major problem with the modern diet is an excess of high glycemic foods like sugar, refined grains and other processed carbohydrates.

So what are the three foods that he recommends that we all avoid?

First cab off the rank is white potatoes. While sweet potatoes are okay due to the fact that they raise blood sugar much less and are rich in other nutrients.

The second types of food to steer clear off are those highly processed grains that are rich in carbohydrates but offer little nutritional value, such as breads, white rice, and cereals.

And last, but certainly not least, we’ve have to cut back on added sugars, including soft drinks, fruit juices and low-fat dairy products.

New Dietary Guidelines Focus on Healthy Eating Patterns

Wed, 03 Aug 2016 01:25:00 GMT

Everyone knows that healthy eating patterns help us to avoid chronic health problems like obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, and Type 2 diabetes, so it should come as no surprise that the latest dietary guidelines for Americans focus heavily on the importance of long-term healthy eating patterns.

Released earlier this year by the Agriculture and Health and Human Services Departments the guidelines are designed to help “provide a clear path for the general public, as well as policy makers and health professionals and others who reach the public, to help Americans make healthy choices, informed by a thoughtful, critical, and transparent review of the scientific evidence on nutrition.”

The latest iteration of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans has three core focuses to help inform Americans eating choices: the need for healthy eating patterns, the value of incremental change and the need for support.

Developing Healthy Eating Patterns

The new guidelines emphasise the importance of fostering a lifelong eating pattern that “contains adequate essential nutrients, a caloric intake that supports a healthy body weight and foods that reduce the risk of chronic disease.”

Essentially this means that we need to try and get into the habit of eating lots of fruit and veg, whole grains, low-fat dairy foods, protein foods with minimal amounts of saturated fats and cut down on added sugars. But, the trick is being consistent.

Make Incremental Changes

By focusing on making small improvements over a long time, as opposed to revolutionising your diet overnight, eating healthy becomes way more doable.

Developing a healthy eating pattern is a long term venture and with so many choices to make every single day about what to fuel our minds and bodies, each meal presents a chance for change. Start by making small changes like replacing refined-flour bread with whole-grain bread, sneaking more veggies into your diet or moving from full cream milk to skim.

Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day.

You Are Not Alone

For those of us looking to change our food consumption patterns we need to realise that we’re not alone. As Acting Assistant Secretary for Health, Karen DeSalvo states, “everyone has a role to play in encouraging easy, accessible, and affordable ways to support healthy choices at home, school, work, and in the community.”

Reducing our intake of artificial sugars, sodium and saturate fats is hard, but there are nutrition programs and healthy eating support mechanisms out there to help us with your journey.

No Long-Term Weight Loss for Biggest Loser Contestants

Mon, 04 Jul 2016 01:08:41 GMT

For more than a decade The Biggest Loser (US) has captivated American audiences. In February of this year the hugely popular reality show wrapped up its seventeenth season, and while it doesn’t quite receive the astronomical ratings it did when it first aired back in 2004, Season 17: Temptation Nation was still watched by more than 4.5 million viewers.

Yet despite its continuing popularity the show has recently come under scrutiny following a new study published in the journal Obesity and written up in a widely shared article by the New York Times.

Entitled Persistent Metabolic Adaptation 6 Years After ‘The Biggest Loser’ Competition, the study was conceived by Kevin Hall, an expert on metabolism at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, while watching the finale of Season 8 in late 2009.

Designed to track the season 8 contestants for six years once the cameras had stopped rolling, the study uncovered some startling home truths that the show’s producers at NBC will not be happy about.

Short-Term Weight Loss

Following Danny Cahill’s Season 8 victory, which saw him lose 108 kilograms over the course of the show, Kevin Hall sought to investigate exactly what happened to contestants over the long-term after they had lost such large amounts of weight over such a short time period.

Kevin Hall and his team studied the “resting metabolic rate (RMR) and body composition” of 14 contestants from Season 8 and found that Danny Cahill was the only one who weighs less today than when the competition begun. Four of them are now heavier than before they went on the show.

Resting Metabolism

These results revealed that the major reason for the contestants’ weight gain is resting metabolism, which slowed down dramatically due to the speed of their initial weight loss.

When the contestants first appeared on the show their metabolisms were normal for their weight, but after undertaking the shows excessive fitness and diet regimes the contestants’ metabolisms radically slowed. Now, they must eat hundreds of calories less each day than people of a comparable size to keep the weight off.

While Researchers were not particularly surprised by the fact that the contestants had a slower metabolism when the show ended they were taken aback by the fact that their metabolisms did not recover. Danny Cahill for example regained more than 45 kilograms over the six years, with his metabolism slowing to such an extent that he now has to eat 800 calories a day less than a typical man his size just to maintain his current weight of 133 kilograms.

In Conclusion

This in-depth research proves that the fight to lose weight and keep it off is a long-term one. However, some research suggests that the method of weight loss may matter. Gastric Bypass surgery for example significantly slows patients’ metabolisms but patients typically see it return to normal after 12 months.

Kevin Hall’s study found that only one of the 14 Biggest Loser contestants that his team examined weighed less than when the competition kicked-off, with four of them now heavier and nine returning to their previous weights. Whereas according to the Journal of Obesity the outcomes for patients who undergo gastric bypass surgery are far superior, with patients losing 60-70 per cent of excess weight after a year with approximately 50 per cent of this access weight loss maintained after 15 years.

The Biggest Loser has also received criticism in the past here in Australia with University of Adelaide professor, Gary Wittert labelling the show “a crass attempt to make entertainment of a serious problem, by enticing desperate people to participate, putting them through a gruelling and unrealistic regime of exercise and diet.”

The experts don’t completely agree on all details, but one finding is clear. The contestants are likely to have had better long-term weight loss outcomes if they had considered all their options – like bariatric surgery – and steered clear of the reality TV circus.

Bariatric Surgery Reduces Pain & Improves Long Term Mobility

Thu, 12 May 2016 00:40:00 GMT

New research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association finds that patients experience long-term reductions in pain and an increase in mobility following bariatric surgeries like the gastric bypass operation.

The study followed more than 2,200 men and women at 10 participating hospitals across the United States for three years after their operations and found that “50 to 75 percent of adults with severe obesity who had bariatric surgery experienced clinically significant improvements in pain, physical functioning and walking time,” according to the study’s author, Wendy King – an Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh.

Patients selected for the study had a median age of 47 and a median BMI of more than 45, which is considered severely obese (to have a BMI greater than 45, a six foot tall male would need to weigh more than 150kg).

Most of the patients had the gastric bypass operation before the study commenced. The gastric bypass is the most common laparoscopic bariatric operation performed in the U.S., and is considered the “gold standard” weight control operation.

The procedure works by essentially bypassing the stomach and causing food to enter a small gastric pouch; resulting in appetite suppression, earlier satiation (fullness) and an aversion to sugary and fatty foods. Ultimately, the procedure results in a loss of 50-70% of excess weight for most patients. Patients in the study saw an average weight loss of 28% over the three year period.

But the study’s most promising results related to improvements in mobility and pain reduction.

At the start of the study, only 56% of patients – just over half – were able to walk a quarter mile (about 400 metres) in seven minutes. At the end of the three years, that number increased significantly to 74% of the patients.

Close to three quarters of patients with severe hip or knee pain or disability when the study began saw improvements in symptoms of osteoarthritis by the study’s third year as well. Their prior joint pain and restrictions in mobility were attributed to joint damage that was itself caused by carrying excessive weight.

Following the weight loss resulting from the bariatric operations, strain on weight-bearing joints like hips and knees was lessened, reducing pain and inflammation as well.

Some of the patients were able and opted for joint replacement surgery during the study period, following the advice of many doctors to lose weight before undertaking joint surgery.

At Adelaide Bariatric Centre we believe that the best weight loss results come from holistic, multidisciplinary approaches in which both surgery and exercise form important parts. Exercise is a vital element of any weight loss or management strategy and is absolutely essential to maintaining weight loss long term.

King’s three-year study highlights that bariatric surgery, in addition to resulting in weight loss itself, can improve mobility and pain reduction – making exercise easier, helping rehabilitation and leading to better recovery overall.

Learn more about King’s study or contact Adelaide Bariatric Centre today to learn about how bariatric surgery can help with weight loss and improve your quality of life.

7 Inspiring Celebrity Weight Loss Surgery Stories

Mon, 09 Nov 2015 02:00:00 GMT

In Australia we have a great fascination with celebrities. We follow our favourites on social media and read about them in trashy magazines, and in a strange way we even come to think of them as ‘friends’. However, Australia, as a country, also struggles with obesity and weight loss.

Here are 7 celebrity bariatric surgery stories designed to inspire you on your weight loss journey.

1) Chris Christie

US presidential hopeful, and current New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie, underwent gastric banding surgery in 2013. In April 2015 he told Today, “it’s the best thing that I've ever done for my health. And I look back on it now and wish I'd done it years ago. "

2) Anne Rice

Highly respected gothic fiction writer, and author of the best-selling Vampire Chronicles, Anne Rice, had gastric bypass surgery in 2003 after weighing in at 115 kg. Following weight loss surgery she lost a total of 46 kg.

3) Randy Jackson

In 2003, former American Idol judge Randy Jackson had gastric bypass surgery. In 2008 he told WebMD, "Liquid fasts. Bee stings. Urine of pregnant women. You name it. I have tried it. The problem is that those diets don't work for people who have the disease of obesity."

4) Roseanne Barr

Iconic comedian, Roseanne Barr, underwent gastric bypass surgery in the late 1990’s but regained weight initially. However, in 2014 she was seen showing off a decidedly slimmer figure. She told the entertainment news site, Closer Weekly: "I went to the doctor yesterday and I thought I lost 12 lbs (5.5 kg). I’d lost 35 lbs (16 kg) and I thought I only lost 12. So that was kind of cool."

5) Sharon Osbourne

Talk show host, reality television star, and all-round professional celebrity, Sharon Osbourne, had gastric band surgery in 1999, losing more than 45 kg.

6) Diego Maradona

Argentine football legend, Diego Maradona, underwent gastric bypass surgery in Colombia in 2005. Before surgery Maradona is rumoured to have weighed as much as 130 kg.

7) Joe Hockey

Former Australian treasurer and recently retired Liberal party stalwart, Joe Hockey, had gastric sleeve surgery in 2012 after battling with obesity for his whole life. Following weight loss surgery Hockey has successfully shed more than 30 kg.

5 Clever Ways to Sneak More Veggies Into Your Diet

Fri, 18 Sep 2015 02:49:34 GMT

We all know that we should be eating vegetables every day. But how many of us actually eat the recommended daily intake of 5 serves a day? According to Go for 2 & 5, “most Australians eat only half the amount of fruit and veggies recommended for good health.”

With this is mind we thought we’d create a list of clever and easy ways to help you sneak more veggies into your diet.

Eat Salad Before Your Main Meal

This is a super easy one, and a tactic that guarantees you a healthy dose of veggies daily. Plus having a hearty, veggie packed salad before your main meal is a good way to help keep your appetite in check and stop you from overeating some of the foods that aren’t so good for you.

Puree Veggies Into Soups

Incorporating soups into your diet is a great way to up your veggie intake. Simply use a blender or a juicer to easily puree your favourite combos into tasty soups. Making soups is time and cost effective, and with so many amazing veggie soups just waiting to be made, we reckon this is a simple and practical way to sneak more veggies into your diet.

Add Veggies to Your Desserts

Okay, this is a strange one... But while your gut instinct may very well be telling you that veggies should never feature in desserts, we disagree. Give it a go, and start replacing all of those empty calories common to sweet desserts with desserts full of vitamins, antioxidants and fiber. English blogger Kate Hackworthy is an expert when it comes to finding creative ways to make healthy desserts. Some of her more digestible recipes include chocolate cauliflower cake, chocolate mashed potato cake, and carrot cake protein balls.

Hide Them in Pasta Sauce

This idea may be old, but as any mother knows, it works. All you’ve got to do to sneak a few extra veggies into your sauce (without ruining it) is shred carrots, zucchini, and maybe some green and red capsicum into the mix, and voila. Another trick to keep up your sleeve is to try adding celery and spinach in the last half-hour of cooking to let the sauce absorb all of the good nutrients from these additional veggies. Even if you don't eat the celery or the spinach, the sauce will still be packed full of added nutrients.

Make Your Own Veggie Based Dips

Not only are dips fun and tasty, but a whole bunch of the best ones are vegetable based; think pumpkin, beetroot, eggplant, and avocado. But even if you feel more comfortable sticking to an old favourite like hummus, you can still add a couple of sneaky veggies into the mix such as finely chopped carrots and/or spinach before processing it in your food processor.

Getting your recommended intake of 5 servings of veg a day is hard work, no one’s saying that it isn’t. You have to be prepared to get a little creative. Finding clever ways to add vegetables to dishes which are normally veggie free is an effective way of upping your daily intake, and improving your overall diet.

300,000 Victorians Living with Type 2 Diabetes

Mon, 24 Aug 2015 07:03:00 GMT

Up to 74 Victorians are being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes every day, according Diabetes Australia Victoria. The organisation’s recently released statistics indicate 27,000 diagnoses of the disease in the state last year, bringing the total number of Victorian residents living with Type 2 diabetes to 300,000. Worryingly, figures show that an additional 500,000 Victorians are categorised as being at “high risk” of diagnosis.

These figures are reflective of the landscape of Australian health as a whole: it’s predicted that, in merely two years’ time, diabetes will overtake heart disease as Australia’s number one cause of disease burden.

Unlike type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes is what’s known as a “lifestyle disease”, since it can be brought on by poor dietary choices and a lack of physical exercise. This is good news for the 500,000 Victorians classified as prediabetic, as it means that, with better lifestyle choices, they can avoid a type 2 diabetes diagnosis.

Craig Bennet, Chief Executive of Diabetes Australia Victoria, says that the benefits of positive lifestyle changes for Australians at risk of diabetes cannot be understated. "We have our work cut out and we're very keen for people to get the message that they need to eat well, exercise regularly and reduce their chances of getting diagnosed with what is a very difficult and complex disease.”, he said.

By exercising regularly and eating well, people can reduce their risk of a diabetes diagnosis by around 60%, Mr Bennet said. But it’s not just the one in four Victorians over the age of 25 classified as pre-diabetic who should be keeping diet and exercise in mind.

"We want all Victorians, whether they have diabetes or not, to eat well and be physically active," he said.

According to Better Health Victoria, there are several ways that people can reduce their risk of developing diabetes, including:

Knowing their risk of developing diabetes
Maintaining a healthy weight
Undertaking regular exercise
Eating a healthy, balanced diet
Limiting unhealthy food, such as those high in salt, fat and kilojoules
Limit your alcohol intake to no more than two standard drinks per day for men, and one for women
Not smoking
Maintaining healthy blood pressure
Reducing cardiovascular disease risk factors
Undergo regular medical checkups with your doctor

Soft Drinks Linked to More Than a 180,000 Deaths

Tue, 14 Jul 2015 06:52:00 GMT

Research out of Tufts University in Boston estimates that a whopping 133,000 people worldwide died from diabetes alone due to overconsumption of soft drink and other artificially sweetened beverages.

This research, published in the journal Circulation, analysed the global risks of death due to type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and common cancers linked to the consumption of soft drink. However, while the study’s author Dariush Mozaffarian found that soft drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages are responsible for life threatening cardiovascular diseases and cancers, its the link between soft drink consumption, diabetes, and death that was truly flabbergasting.

Suicide by Soda

Around 45,000 people died globally from cardiovascular diseases arising from sugary drink consumption and 6,450 people died from cancers, Tufts University researchers estimated.

"Many countries in the world have a significant number of deaths occurring from a single dietary factor, sugar-sweetened beverages. It should be a global priority to substantially reduce or eliminate sugar-sweetened beverages from the diet," said Dariush Mozaffarian, M.D., Dr.P.H., senior author of the study and dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science & Policy at Tufts.

Estimates of consumption were made from 62 previously conducted dietary surveys conducted between 1980 and 2010 across 51 nations, along with data on national availability of sugar in 187 countries. This allowed Dariush Mozaffarian and his team to capture geographical, gender and age variation in consumption levels of sugar-sweetened beverages in different populations.

The Findings

People who consume 1-2 cans of soft drink per day have a 26% greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes than people who rarely consume soft drink.
Mexico has the highest death rate due to sugary beverages of any country, with a rate of 450 deaths per million adults. This was nearly three times higher than second place South Africa.
The report also found 76% of deaths related to soft drink and other sugary drink consumption occurred in low to middle income countries.
Among the 20 countries with the highest estimated sugar-sweetened beverage-related deaths, 8 were in Latin America/Caribbean.
In Japan, where unsweetened teas are among the most popular beverages, deaths from sugary drinks are negligible, the least of any developed nation.

It’s important to note that the researchers could not exactly prove a direct cause and effect between soft drink consumption and these 184,000 deaths. Rather, they based their conclusions on national beverage consumption trends, death rates and sugar availability.

Too Much Screen Time For Aussie Teens

Fri, 29 May 2015 00:06:00 GMT

A report released by the Cancer Council in partnership with the Heart Foundation reveals that Australian teens are spending way too much time in front of screens.

The latest version of the National Secondary Students' Diet and Activity Survey found that more than 55 per cent of Aussie students had at least three televisions in the home, with 40 per cent having direct access to video games in their bedrooms. This proliferation of screens has led 77 per cent of Australian teenagers to spend more than two hours a day using electronic devices.

Life in Front of the Screen

While screen time has risen since the previous version of the report was released in 2011, physical activity levels have marginally risen. However, chair of the Cancer Council's Public Health Committee, Craig Sinclair, said any modest benefit afforded by the increases have been nullified by the rise in screen time.

"That's [screen time of 2+ hours per day] increased from 71 per cent in 2010 to 77 per cent in 2013", Mr. Sinclair said. “But still the vast majority of adolescents, as much as 82 per cent, are not engaging in more than 60 minutes of physical activity per day".

Overweight Teens

The report found that a quarter of Australia’s male high school students were overweight or obese, with a fifth of female students falling into this category.

Mary Barry from the Heart Foundation believes the findings of the report should lead secondary schools to invest in a national physical activity strategy.

"Obesity amongst young people is a significant public health issue in Australia as overweight youth are at an increased risk of becoming overweight adults", Ms. Barry said.

New Research Uncovers Psychological Benefits of Bariatric Surgery

Wed, 20 May 2015 23:48:00 GMT

New research out of Spain’s National University of Distance Education reveals that apart from the obvious physical benefits of undergoing weight loss surgery, there are actually many psychological benefits of undergoing bariatric procedures.

Extensive Meta-Analysis

The study, Mental and Physical Health Related Quality of Life in Obese Patients Before and After Bariatric Surgery, authored by Dr Alejandro Magalleres involved in-depth analysis of 21 previous scientific studies that analysed the correlation between happiness and weight loss.

The results published in the journal Psychology, Health and Medicine revealed that obese patients scored less in both the mental health and physical health sections of the SF-36 (Short Form Health Survey) prior to undergoing weight loss surgery.

By analysing this extensive pool of data Dr Magalleres and his team were able to garner insight into the experiences of more than 2,600 obese subjects and 2,200 subjects who were obese and underwent the surgery for weight loss.

Unequivocal Improvements in Life Quality

It was seen throughout all these studies that the quality of life - both physical and mental - increased post bariatric surgery.

"An increase was found in quality of life related to both psychological and physical aspects after surgical intervention", said Dr Magalleres. "Both physical and psychological health improve after the operation, and that increase in quality of life is especially significant in the the physical area."

According to the authors, this study comprises the most complete information on the quality of life related to health in obese people before and after bariatric surgery.

Weight loss procedures cause dramatic changes in the size and form of the stomach, which can cause complications such as diarrhea, constipation and vomiting. Despite these short term drawbacks, the positive effects according to Dr Magalleres speak for themselves.

5 Unexpected Benefits of Bariatric Surgery

Fri, 27 Mar 2015 00:28:00 GMT

In Australia the prevalence of obesity has more than doubled over the past two decades, according to Monash University.

There’s no doubt in the medical community that obesity causes a number of serious health conditions such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Undergoing weight loss surgery is often the most effective means of losing significant weight, and for someone suffering from this challenging disease, losing weight is essential for their health.

Bariatric surgery provides many health benefits to patients such as lowered risk of heart disease, diabetes control, lower risk of cancer and lower cholesterol, but what are some of the more unexpected health benefits of weight loss surgery?

Improved Memory

A 2013 US study authored by Shaeen E Lakhan and published in the Nutrition Journal indicated that obese individuals had poorer memory recall than peers of a normal weight, and generally poorer cognitive function across the board. The study states, “recent studies indicate that both obesity and T2D are associated with cognitive decline. Not only does midlife obesity increase the risk of developing late-life dementia, but also lower cognitive performance earlier in life is itself a risk factor for dementia later in life”

Lower Medical Bills

Because obesity has many associated health conditions, the average obese person spends much more on health care than someone of a normal weight. According to the State of Obesity, “obese people spend 42% more on healthcare costs than healthy weight people.”

Increased Ability to Conceive Children

Obesity has a negative impact on maintaining a healthy pregnancy, according to Your Fertility. But being obese can even affect a woman’s fertility by causing hormonal imbalances and problems with ovulation. A woman who is obese is more than twice as likely to have a miscarriage as a woman of healthy weight.

Fewer Allergies

To the naked eye, obesity and allergies appear to be unrelated. But this isn’t the case according to Michael Wald, MD, an integrated medicine specialist based in New York State. “For some people, being overweight contributes to worsened asthma and allergies. It puts a burden on the adrenal glands, which are involved in managing asthma and allergies. Being overweight is also a strain upon the respiratory system and can exacerbate asthma symptoms.”

Arthritis Relief

A number of studies have shown that weight loss improves arthritis pain, including a 2013 study led by Dr. Stephen Messier that concluded that “losing weight and exercise significantly reduces osteoarthritis knee pain and increases arthritic knee function.”

Obesity is one of the most significant health problems in Australia, and with 1 in 5 Aussies classified as obese, weight loss surgery procedures such as gastric sleeve, gastric banding and gastric bypass surgery play an important role in helping to address this epidemic.

Debunking the Healthy Obesity Myth

Tue, 17 Feb 2015 23:18:00 GMT

New research out of the UK lifts the veil on the idea of healthy obesity in order to determine whether healthy obese adults stay healthy in the long term.

A small but long-term study, that tracked the health of more than 2,500 men and women for 20 years, found that most healthy obesity progresses to unhealthy obesity in the majority of adults.

The study, entitled 'The Natural Course of Healthy Obesity Over 20 Years' published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, found that more than 51% of the healthy obese participants became unhealthy obese over the 20-year study period, while only 11% lost weight and became healthy non-obese.

The Definitions

Researchers from the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University College London studied more than 2,500 government employees between the ages of 39 and 62, measuring their body mass index, as well as a range of other significant health conditions, including cholesterol, blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose and insulin resistance.

'Obese' was defined as having a body mass index of 30 kg/m2 or more, while "healthy" obesity was defined as obesity with no metabolic risk factors.

The Findings

Of the participants, 181 were initially classified as obese, including 66 who were classified as being healthy obese
After five years, 32% of the participants initially classified as healthy obese had become unhealthy obese
By 10 years, 41% had become classified as unhealthy obese
After 20 years more than 51% had become unhealthy obese
38% of the 66 participants initially defined as being healthy obese remained in the healthy obese category for the duration of the study
Only 6% of participants who were originally defined as being healthy non-obese became unhealthy obese
Interestingly, the healthy non-obese category grew over time from 5% after 10 years to 6% after 15 years, and to 11% after 20 years

The study's lead author, Joshua Bell, said "healthy obesity is only a state of relative health, it's just less unhealthy than the worst-case scenario. And as we now see, healthy obese adults tend to become unhealthy obese over time. Healthy obesity is only valid if it is stable over time, and our results indicate that it is often just a phase. All types of obesity warrant treatment, even those which appear to be healthy.”

Weight Loss Surgery Saves Lives

Tue, 27 Jan 2015 23:56:00 GMT

According to new research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, obese people live longer if they choose to undergo a bariatric surgery operation compared to those who don’t elect to have surgery.

Conducted by Dr David Arterburn, a Group Health physician and affiliate associate professor of medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine and Dr Matthew Maciejewski, a research career scientist in Health Services Research and Development at the Durham VA , the Association Between Bariatric Surgery & Long-term Survival study concluded that surgical patients had a 53% lower risk of dying from any cause at five to 14 years after the procedure.

The Study

The study was designed to examine the long-term survival rate of weight loss surgery patients. Performed as a retrospective cohort study, this extensive and groundbreaking piece of research featured many fascinating features, not the least being the fact that the study’s participants were 75% male. Some of the study’s other features included:

2,500 patients (74% men) participated. These patients had undergone weight loss surgery in Veterans Affairs (VA) bariatric centres between the years 2000-2011.
These patients were an average age of 52 years and had an average body mass index (BMI) of 47.
They underwent either gastric bypass (74%), gastric banding (10%), gastric sleeve (1%) or another bariatric procedure (1%).
The 2,500 patients were then matched to more than 7,000 control patients of similar ages and BMIs who had not undergone weight loss surgery.
Survival was compared across patients who underwent bariatric surgery and matched controls using Kaplan-Meier estimators.
Approximately 55% of participants had type 2 diabetes, while many of the them had other obesity-related conditions.

The Results

During Dr David Arterburn and and Dr Matthew Maciejewski’s 14-year follow-up, the researchers found 263 deaths among patients who had weight loss surgery and 1,277 deaths in the control group.

At 1 year there was little to nothing to report, with the estimated mortality rate for patients who underwent bariatric surgery being 2.4%, compared with 1.7% in the control group.

However, mortality rates for bariatric surgery patients at 5 and 10 years were 6.4% and 13.8%, respectively, compared with mortality rates of 10.4% at 5 years and 23.9% at 10 years within the control group, suggesting that weight loss surgery may significantly improve long-term survival rates.

Little Difference Between Rapid & Gradual Weight Loss

Tue, 23 Dec 2014 22:32:46 GMT

A recent Australian study published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology found that dieters who experience rapid weight loss are no more likely regain lost weight than those who lose it gradually.

The effect of rate of weight loss on long-term weight management: a randomised controlled trial led by Joseph Proietto of the University of Melbourne divided 204 obese men and women (BMI 30–45) into two groups.

The participants were randomly assigned to either a 12 week rapid weight loss programme or a 36 week gradual weight-loss regime. The 12 week group were restricted to a diet of 450-800 calories per day, while the other group simply reduced their energy intake by 500 calories per day.

Those who lost 12.5% or more of their body weight from both groups were then placed on a three-year maintenance diet.

The Results

Joseph Proietto and his team reported that participants who lost weight faster were more likely to achieve their weight loss target, with 81% of participants in the rapid weight loss group losing more than 12.5% of their body weight, versus 50% in the gradual group.

Yet by the end of the three-year maintenance diet, individuals in both groups had regained an average of 71% of the kilos they had initially lost. However, among the rapid weight loss group more participants had successfully remained in the programme.

Challenging an Old Myth

As a general rule dieters are told that a weight loss of no more than 500 grams per week is best. But as Joseph Proietto’s study shows, there’s little to no long term difference between rapid and gradual weight loss.

"By contrast with the widely-held belief that weight lost rapidly is more quickly regained, our findings show that regain is similar after gradual or rapid weight loss," says the team at University of Melbourne. "Our data should guide committees that develop clinical guidelines for the management of obesity to change their advice".