Happy New Year and welcome back to the ANR News Blog.
It's common for people to resolve this time of year to lose weight. Appropriately, the lead story in Sunday's Los Angeles Times reported on what might be a controversial new way to shed a few pounds. In clinical trials, scientists are studying the use of weight-loss surgery - a practice more common for the morbidly obese - on moderately overweight people.
The article opens with the story of a 48-year-old woman struggling to lose a stubborn 50 pounds. Not heavy enough for traditional weight-loss surgery guidelines, she enrolled in a clinical trial for a new, less invasive stomach stapling procedure.
UC Davis nutrition professor Judith Stern seems to endorse the practice early in the LA Times story.
"I see surgery playing a bigger role," Stern was quoted, ". . . because the weight-loss drugs we have now are lousy."
Later in the story, however, writer Shari Roan added a quote that clarifies Stern's belief that surgery should be limited only to those with higher body mass index scores.
"People with a BMI of 33, for example, don't weigh a lot. Is that worth the risks of surgery, the side effects, the potential for problems? I'm absolutely opposed to bariatric surgery under a certain BMI, such as 37 with co-morbidities," Stern was quoted.
UC Cooperative Extension offers extensive information on nutrition and weight management. See the Nutrition, Weight and Health Media Kit.
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