Summary of post: The Houston Chronicle recently caught up with Khalia Ali to discuss her new book on gastric banding and weight loss. 

Several times in the past, we have blogged about Khalia Ali and her efforts to educate the public on Lap-Band surgery. Khalia is still hard at work as the spokesperson for gastric banding surgery.

The Houston Chronicle recently ran a story about Khalia’s new book, Fighting Weight, in which  she tells the story of her struggle with weight and her choice to use gastric banding surgery.

Article excerpt:

After the birth of her son, she ballooned to 335 pounds and had her share of embarrassing experiences — breaking chairs and uncomfortable airplane rides. At the peak of her weight, she ran into her father at a charity event. “He was happy to see me, but concerned. He knew from the way I looked that I lost my balance,” she writes in Fighting Weight (Collins, $22.95), her book about weight struggles and her experience with gastric banding.

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In my weekly “crawl” for articles and information on bariatric weight-loss surgery, I stumbled across this article on the Albuquerque Tribune’s website.

The article gives a good overview of Lap-Band surgery, offering info on typical results after surgery, what to expect, etc.

Here’s an excerpt:

“Since these procedures are minimally invasive thanks to advances in laparoscopic surgery, recovery generally is speedy. Gastric bypass still requires at least an overnight hospital stay, but the Lap-Band procedure can be performed on an outpatient basis. While these are reversible in theory, they rarely are because doing so will result in weight gain.”

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When you consider the negative health impact obesity has on the body, the first things that come to mind are usually high blood pressure, heart disease and even diabetes. The “usual suspects” of obesity.

But we don’t always consider the effect that obesity has on bones … or, for that matter, how bones relate to obesity. A new article from Time magazine may change that. The article, published to the Health section of Time.com, explained the connection between obesity and bones.

Article excerpt:

In some ways it’s logical that bone and fat tissue would talk to each other. “Obviously there does need to be some coordination between skeletal growth and body mass,” says C. Ronald Kahn, director of the Joslin Diabetes Center at Harvard. “If you carry around extra weight, your bones need to hold up under the extra pressure, so it’s not surprising that your bones have a sense of body fat.”

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Yesterday I saw a CNN story about the 12 year old girl who underwent Lap Band surgery recently. I meant to blog about the story yesterday but forgot. Then I got a reminder this morning when her story appeared on another news channel.

Apparently, she is becoming quite the celebrity.

But this is actually the second case (that we know of) where a 12-year-old girl had Lap Band surgery. We blogged about a similar news story back in the beginning of July. That story was about a 12-year-old girl from Washington State who underwent a Lap Band surgery — in Tijuana, Mexico. See blog post titled 12-Year-Old Girl Has Lap Band Surgery.

The more recent story is about a girl in Texas, and for some reason this case has exploded onto the media scene while the previous story went largely unnoticed by the country. Here is a story on a Fox News website about the girl. You can also see a video interview with the girl on CNN’s website.

Publisher’s note: The owners of this website do not condone or condemn weight loss surgery in patients so young. We remain neutral on the subject and merely gather information for your own personal research.

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Are you considering bariatric weight-loss surgery for obesity? If so, have you asked yourself the right kinds of questions to determine if obesity surgery is the best option for you?

Like any other form of surgery, obesity surgery requires careful consideration and planning. To help you in this regard, we have rounded up some resources (on this website and elsewhere) to help you ask yourself the right questions about obesity surgery — and to obtain answers to those questions.

Questions When Considering Surgery For Obesity

Question: Is obesity surgery right for me?
Related article: When to Consider Weight Loss Surgery

Question: Do I know the potential risks of obesity surgery?
Related article: Possible Complications of Bariatric Surgery

Question: Do I understand the financial costs?
Related articles: Cost of Bariatric Surgery and Lap Band Surgery

Question: Have I taken the obesity surgery quiz?
If not, go there now

Surgery for obesity is a major undertaking and therefore requires careful consideration. The questions above are a good starting point, but don’t stop there. Read as much literature as you can find on obesity surgery, and talk to some folks who have undergone this type of surgery. Get the big picture and make an informed decision about obesity surgery.

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