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The New York Times reported, in an April 2007 article, that the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation plans to spend more than $500 million over the next five years to reverse the increase in childhood obesity nationally, including Texas. It is one of the largest public health initiatives ever tried by a private philanthropy.

“This is an epidemic that is going to cost the country in terms of morbidity and mortality and economically,” said Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, the foundation’s president and chief executive. “The younger generation is going to live sicker and die younger than their parents because of obesity.”

The foundation estimates that roughly 25 million children 17 and under are obese or overweight, nearly a third of the 74 million in that age group, according to Census Bureau data and a 2006 study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association.

Many of those children are poor and live in neighborhoods where outdoor play is unsafe and access to fresh fruits and vegetables is limited. “In many cases, the environment makes it almost impossible for them to choose healthy lifestyles,” Dr. Lavizzo-Mourey said. “We’re going to try to change that.”

The foundation plans to invest in programs to improve access to healthy food, encourage the development of safe play spaces, increase research to enhance understanding of obesity and prod governments into adopting policies to address the problem, among other things.

Experts on childhood obesity welcomed the foundation’s plans.

“Government grants for biomedical research in general, including obesity research, are being funded at the lowest levels I’ve seen in my career,” said Dr. David Ludwig, director of the Optimal Weight for Life Clinic at Children’s Hospital Boston and author of a new book, “Ending the Food Fight.” “So we are especially dependent on philanthropic support.”

Philanthropy has long fueled improvements in health, from John D. Rockefeller, whose money produced a yellow fever vaccine, to Bill and Melinda Gates, who are underwriting new health technologies and vaccines to address a variety of global problems.

Robert Wood Johnson, who built Johnson & Johnson into one of the world’s largest health and medical care products companies, established his foundation at his death in 1968 with 10,204,377 shares of the company’s stock. He committed it to improving the health of Americans.

The foundation played a major role in curbing tobacco use in this country, spending $446 million from 1991 to 2003 toward that goal, and it plans to use those experiences to shape its attack on childhood fat.

Since 1995, the number of adult and teenage smokers has declined 12.6 percent and 18 percent, respectively.

“It was a very carefully thought-out strategic initiative,” said Joel L. Fleishman, a professor of law and public policy at Duke University. The foundation underwrote research, prevention and smoking-cessation programs, and increased awareness of smoking’s dangers.

Over the last few years, the foundation has pledged $80 million to childhood obesity programs, like grants to the Food Trust to persuade supermarket operators to return to poor neighborhoods.

Its new effort intends to capitalize on and enhance efforts by the food industry and school districts and governments to address the problem, Dr. Lavizzo-Mourey said. Several snack food producers are making changes in their packaging and ingredients, and three soft-drink companies said they would no longer supply sweetened drinks to school cafeterias and vending machines.

Several states have mandated changes in school menus, increased physical education requirements and begun reporting students’ body mass index scores to parents.

In Arkansas, which has one of the most comprehensive programs aimed at the problem, obesity among the 450,000 children in 1,300 public schools has plateaued.

Obesity is a growing American epidemic that takes root early in life. It imposes a variety of health risks that can appear at any phase in life. As you’ll discover, what affects your health also will eventually affect your bank account. So if you’re a young individual who tries to keep healthy, you should take a look at the revolutionary, comprehensive individual health insurance solutions created by Precedent specifically for you. For more information, visit us at our website, www.precedent.com. We offer a unique and innovative suite of individual health insurance solutions, including highly competitive HSA-qualified plans and an unparalleled “real time” application and acceptance experience.

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Although the vertical gastrectomy, which is also often referred to as a sleeve gastrectomy, greater curvature gastrectomy, parietal gastrectomy or vertical gastroplasty, is not perhaps the most well known form of bariatric weight loss surgery it may well provide an excellent option for the super obese.

For individuals with a very high body mass index (typically quoted as being in excess of 55 or 60) bariatric surgery presents particular problems as the risks of surgery at this weight are often unacceptably high - especially when other medical conditions are present.

One answer however is to split surgery into two separate procedures using a laparoscopic vertical gastrectomy initially to reduce the patient’s weight to a level at which traditional gastric bypass surgery can then be performed with much lower risk. But just how successful is this approach?

At the moment data is somewhat thin on the ground and it may be some time before we have sufficient data to start drawing strong conclusions. However, the data which is available does suggest that the vertical gastrectomy will prove to be a good choice for the super obese.

Among several studies which have reported recently one is a study conducted at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in which seven patients (4 men and 3 women with an average age of 43 and with BMIs of between 58 and 71) underwent a vertical sleeve gastrectomy, followed about a year later by a laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass operation.

Prior to initial surgery the group had a mean weight of 398 lbs and BMI of 63. Following the initial vertical gastrectomy all of the patients progressed satisfactorily and immediately prior to their second surgery the mean weight of the group had dropped to 319 lbs with a mean BMI of 50. At this point the group are continuing to progress and the mean weight of the group is currently down to 277 lbs with a mean BMI of 44.

In this particular study 4 of the patients encountered complications (none of which were reported as being serious) including injury to the spleen, anastomotic stricture, nerve praxia, hernia and urinary tract infection.

Although the jury is still out initial results are encouraging and, as obesity continues to grow at an alarming rate in many western countries, the vertical gastrectomy may well find its place as the first of a two-part weight loss operative plan.

GastricBypassFacts.info is a substantial resource center providing information on all aspects of gastric bypass surgery and includes a number or articles covering such things as the vertical gastrectomy.

It may seem strange to see a reference to ‘diet’ on a web site dedicated to climate change, but believe it or not, our diet the food industry, food production and it’s subsequent distribution all play a significant part in the global picture.

The old adage, ‘you are what you eat’ has never been so relevant - we have in just decades, thrown the common sense approach of yesteryear away and have, in our masses turned to the fast, the convenient the ready made, the pre-packaged and the take-away. The family meal has all but disappeared.

Our staple diet now contains too much of many of the food types that are potentially life threatening, the high salt , high sugar and foods that contain excess fats are everywhere, our bodies now crave them we are, in many ways, junk addicts -

In recent years pressure from industry and Government has improved our labeling - but in reality how many of us read the small print? We need as consumers to take back control of our trolleys! Say no to the soda, the double cheeseburger and extra fries and regain a sense of control - ditch the junk!

FACT: Saying NO to the processed, the pre-packaged and the chemically modified food stuffs will not only help our burgeoning waist lines it will dramatically reduce the waste mountain!

World Obesity Figures:

France: Concerns over the nations health moves higher on the political agenda as 11-12 per cent of French children are now classified as obese!

China: Obesity figures in China have increased by some 97 per cent in the past 10 years - some 200 million people are thought to be overweight whilst some 60 million are considered obese!

Fact: China is now home to some 800+ Kentucky Fried Chicken outlets and over 100 Pizza Huts.

Spain: Over 38 per cent of the adult population are considered overweight and the Government has taken a strong line with food companies in order to tackle the rising problem. Food companies have been required to reduce the amount of fats, sodium and salt in all of their produce. Meanwhile food and drink vending machines are being removed from schools and other public places.

India: Obesity figures have caused widespread concern, especially in many of India’s growing cities where 30 per cent of adolescents are overweight.

Did You Know: India’s fast-food industry is growing by a whopping 40 per cent per annum whilst 25 per cent of the population are still classified as undernourished.

Malaysia: The modern, more sedentary lifestyle is taking it’s toll on many of Malaysia’s young where 80 per cent of their total leisure time is now spent watching TV!

Sri Lanka: Again the modern high fat, low nutritional value lifestyle, is of growing concern as more and more of the countries children (14 %) who live in many of towns and cities are classified as overweight.

FACT: McDonald’s operates over 30,000 restaurants in some 119 countries and serves some 46 million people every day!

America: The obesity crisis has reached epic proportions for here 65.2 per cent of the population or 127 million adults are overweight and 60 million or 30.5 per cent of them are classified as obese.

FACT: Children who are given fizzy and sugar-sweetened drinks on a regular basis are much more likely to have a weight problem.

Improving our diet, contrary to what we may believe, is not hard, nor will it cost us more in terms of time or money. The first step is to recognize, that a diet high in fat, salt and sugar is of low-nutritional value and with every additional meal, we are increasing our chances of becoming overweight or obese. As obesity figures soar, the cost of treating many often, life threatening diet-related diseases including, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and heart problems will spiral ever upward.

The Golden Rules

As boring as it sounds READ THE LABEL

Learn the food groups, each day we need to eat food from all 5 categories for more information visit

Avoid the ‘E” - Foods containing the many E-numbers are not good so avoid them! a great guide to the E- numbers in food can be found at http://www.ukfoodguide.co.net

Eat breakfast - breakfast is them most important meal of the day it wakes our metabolism and gives us the energy to concentrate through our morning slog! Replace high sugar and sugar coated cereals with low sugar alternatives - too much sugar sends your blood sugar levels spiraling and then you crash - which starts you snacking its a vicious cycle.

Say NO to mid-morning snacks - snacking in between meals is NOT good - if you want something make it a healthy option.

Throw a dinner party! spend some time with people you like!

Encourage - your children to cook

Start a vegetable patch! another great way to teach our children about the food they take for granted

Reduce Your salt /sodium in take. Switch to a lo-sodium alternative

Did You Know? Each slice of bread can contain an almighty 200mg of salt! and hidden in your bowl of cornflakes is another 360mg of the stuff.

NB 1 teaspoon of salt is the equivalent to 200 mg of sodium.

Make Your Own - if you have time why not make your own bread ! Or buy a bread maker!

Cut Down On Additives.

Cut Down On Preservatives.

FACT: Children who constantly snack in between meals are, invariably fussy eaters - so banish the snack and they will soon feel hungry at meal times!

Remember: Chips are not vegetables - they are potatoes which are carbohydrate - we can still eat chips ‘hurrah’ but we cannot eat them every day!

Say no to low sugar alternatives - ban the sweetener!

Did you know? Aspartame E951 (Nutrasweet) is 200 times sweeter than sugar.

FACT: Tartrazine E102 - Is a common yellow food colourant that experts believe has a direct link to hyperactivity!

Make mealtimes fun - Let’s face it our lives are pretty chaotic - so why not step back and enjoy some quality time together.

Picnic - Remember the good old days? - so next time you fancy going out for the day say no to the drive through and pack a tumultuous picnic the kid’s will love it and so will you.

Did You Know? There are literally hundreds of thousands of easy to prepare meals in under 20 minutes! so make one today!

Join - The slow food movement is gathering momentum across the world to find out more visit http://wwwslowfood.com

Remember No Matter What It Is… Enjoy Your Food

Christine Farrell is the founder of http://www.climate-information.com the first web site to put the subject of climate change into a global context. Developed to help everyday people understand the role we play in the bigger picture. Climate-information.com delivers timely, global information on climate change, deforestation, our diet, water, saving energy and much much more..

The main causes of obesity in America are mostly through eating unhealthy foods and continued daily devoid of physical activities. The fact is that if you eat food that gives you extra calories than you burn up, the automatically, your body will store the excess calories and swells with fats.

This is the central and main causes of obesity in America today. Uncontrollable eating habits remain the main causes of obesity in America and it seems to be on the rise.

Because most people don’t provide the time and lack inclination to control their meals, its no wonder many more people are adding extra weight in America. If you add the inactive lifestyle where most trips are taken by car and you got a health situation out of control.

Junk food: We are all busy, but this does not mean that we have to eat everything the fast food restaurants put before you. Burgers may look good, but they are fat too highly powered got your health.

Thing is, a single burger is worth a whole meal, but your body does not judge the situation this way. Your stomach will never be filled by a regular burger, so it will keep asking for more, despite the fact that your body does not need more burgers.

Genetics: Obesity can also be inherited from family members who suffered from it. If your family has a history of obesity, then you would do well to watch your weight.

Are you feeling like giving up hope?

In dealing with the main causes of obesity in America, most concern overweight or obese people have tried various diet programs, but could only shed few pounds. But you must realize that returning to your old eating habits and lifestyle is synonymous to weight lost turns into weight regained!

In addition, the body get program to adapt to different diets and makes more difficult for you to shed those excess load you hate to so much. In considering this experience, you may easily conclude that following a diet for a longer time is difficult or unattainable because you normally hunger after the ‘prohibited foods’ that induces obesity.

What you must realize is that the so-called yummy, but ‘prohibited foods’ are much more appealing and enticing to your eyes and tongue. Remember that a victorious diet that will help you shed weight, give you that balanced body shape and generally well being require some adjustment to your lifestyle and spend some for regular exercising.

Here is a complete natural fat binder that naturally BIND about 23% of the fats in your food and help you overcome main causes of obesity in America today. And get more ideas: http://weightlossdiettip.blogspot.com/

Gastric bypass surgery (otherwise referred to as bariatric surgery or weight loss surgery) is helping many thousands of morbidly obese individuals to reduce their risk from diabetes and other life-threatening conditions and to regain much of their former lifestyle. Complications from gastric bypass surgery are however significant and need to be taken into consideration before electing surgery.

Numerous studies have been carried out into gastric bypass complication rates in the short-term and these normally follow the progress of patients for up to 30 days after surgery. A more recent study however (examining claims for both hospital and outpatient care for more than 5 million individuals enrolled in employer sponsored health plans covering 49 states and including in excess of 2,500 weight loss patients) has extended the findings of previous studies to look in depth at complications arising up to 6 months after surgery.

According to the study death occurred during, or in the 6 months following, surgery in only 0.2% of patients and the most common complications were dumping syndrome (reflux, vomiting and diarrhea) which happened in 20% of cases, anastomosis problems (such as leakage or stricture arising at the site of the join between the stomach and the intestine) which happened in 12% of cases, abdominal hernias in 7% of cases, infections in 6% of cases and pneumonia which happened in 4% of patients.

The study also found that just over 10% or patients who got through the first 30 days without complication went on to experience a problem in the following 5 months. In the majority of cases these problems were dumping, anastomosis problems, abdominal hernia, and marginal ulcers. In addition, although just under 5% of patients had to be re-admitted during the 30 day period, this figure climbed to a little over 7% when looking at the longer 6 month timeframe.

The cost of gastric bypass surgery was also affected considerably by complications and, while patients experiencing surgery without complication paid an average of just over $25,000, complications within the 6 month post-surgical period pushed this figure up to just over $36,500. In cases where patients had to be re-admitted to hospital because of gastric bypass complications the cost rose to a little over $65,000.

Gastric bypass surgery is very much the start of the weight loss process and, unlike many forms of surgery which cure the problem more or less on the spot, the results of weight loss surgery take time to show. It is not surprising therefore that problems will arise after surgery and gastric bypass complications must be considered carefully before you make the decision to embark on this particular journey.

GastricBypassFacts.info is a substantial resource center providing information on all aspects of gastric bypass surgery and includes a number or articles covering such things as the gastric bypass complication rate.

Morbid obesity or clinically severe obesity is a serious condition affecting over 13 million Americans. An individual is considered morbidly obese when weighing either twice his or her ideal weight or is 100 pounds over that ideal. According to the N.I.H., National Institutes of Health, morbid obesity is associated with an increased risk of certain cancers, hypertension, and diabetes to name a few.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, there are approximately two-thirds of the adult population suffering from weight-related health conditions today. Obesity turns into “morbid obesity” at the point where it increases the risk of one or more obesity-related health conditions or serious disorders known as co-morbidities that result in either significant physical disability or even death.

Anyone considering bariatric surgery will be faced with an array of choices and alternatives. Many will arrive at a decision to pursue the procedure only after having repeatedly failed with non-surgical diet approaches. When faced with the risk of death by not having the surgery, the risk of potential post-surgical and surgical complications suddenly seem acceptable for many. Over 170,000 will make the decision to have the surgery this year despite serious potential risk. It has been reported that the great Notre Dame football coach, Charlie Weis, experienced complications during a weight loss surgery, and today walks with a noticeable limp as the result of nerve damage. The point is that this is a serious medical procedure not without risks.

There are an entire range of potential risks associated with the procedure such as: severe wound infection, bowel obstruction, pneumonia, blood clots, acute kidney failure, liver failure, postoperative depression, bulimia, and even death.
I would like to tell you the story of Herbert. He is a client of mine. He is a successful businessman in his forties who had not been lighter than 300 pounds in the last twenty years. Only one year ago, May 2006, he weighed over 350 pounds. Today he is approximately (80) eighty pounds lighter. He recalled the moment a doctor suggested he consider bariatric surgery without ever reviewing his medical history, without considering the complete person, or anything about him as an individual. Like many others, he had lost and gained the same pounds repeatedly over the years. Lose fifty, gain fifty five, lose forty, gain forty eight. Although desperate for a solution, the decision to have surgery did not seem right nor did it feel right for him.

Herbert sought out a professional weight coach based on a referral from a friend. After discussing what his goals were not only for his weight in particular but his life in general, we agreed to begin working together in late May of 2006. Like most, Herbert knew many of the things one needs to do in order to lose weight, but he had never been able to sustain those things long enough to see the results he desired.

He began to learn not only how to lose weight by using a simple telephone number known as the code, but more importantly, how to keep it off. This simple ten-digit number outlines very specific actions he would take each day. Herbert was surprised to find out that he continued to largely eat the foods he enjoys. He commented, “This is easy, I can do this for the rest of my life.” Losing weight does not have to be a struggle or even difficult for that matter, but you, like Herbert, do have to know what to do, when to do it, and in what very specific amounts. You have to know the code. People tend to struggle because they have no real idea of how to successfully lose weight much less how to maintain their gains. Herbert, with the tools, the structure, and the support is moving confidently toward his goal.
Last May, Herbert was unable to walk more than the length of two football fields without having to sit and to rest. On July 4, 2007, he and I will be amongst tens of thousands participating in the 10 kilometer Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta, Georgia.

Perhaps you ought to consider one more alternative before bariatric surgery. Perhaps you should consider your own personal weight and life coach. See you later - I have to go train because I don’t want to slow Herbert down in the Peachtree Road Race.

Michael Imani, Ph.D. is a diet expert who works with clients to find solutions for weight and life issues. He is the author of The Diet Code: 4 Steps to Permanent Weight Loss. http://www.michaelimanicoaching.com

For many overweight Americans, the battle with their ever expanding waist-lines didn’t begin with great fanfare. Too many long work hours and fast food dinners has led to a gradual increase in weight gain and, eventually, a weight problem with serious health risks.

Within weeks, some of those pudgy Americans may reach for Phenocal, the over-the-counter weight loss aid for overweight adults.

The manufacturer, Pharmaxa Labs, has been strategically laying the groundwork for the launch of the product in July. Copies of the self-help lifestyle program will accompany packages of Phenocal as the diet pill goes on sale nationwide.

This new weight loss product claims to increase energy levels, boost metabolism, suppress and control appetite, reduce unhealthy food cravings, and maximize diet and exercise results among others. On top of that, it boasts of being a natural, safe and effective weight loss supplement. Can it work for you?

The foundation of Phenocal is composed of an impressive core profile of fat burning and metabolic enhancing ingredients. The product contains 250 mg of Hoodia Gordinii, a plant that has been used by African bushmen for over 20,000 years to reduce hunger and give them the energy for long desert trips. Hoodia’s potential as an anti-obesity drug is so strong that it even attracted Pfizer who had plans of synthesizing its active ingredients.

Phenocal also contains 250 mg of Green Tea extract whose health benefits have been recognized in China for the past 5,000 years. Aside from burning fat as reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, green tea can also increase your energy and curb your appetite. Green tea is a positive addition to any fat burner because it’s ability to elevate the metabolism and inhibit the action of the enzyme amylase.

Then there’s garcinia cambogia, a yellowish pumpkin shaped fruit found in India and parts of Asia. This is the source of hydroxycitric acid (HCA) that is found in many weight loss products. As reported in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, extensive animal studies have shown that HCA suppresses appetite and enhances fat-burning. This is due to the fact that HCA inhibits an enzyme called citrate lyase that helps turn excess carbohydrates into fat. By inhibiting this enzyme, the body speeds up carbohydrate oxidation, meaning more carbs are burned.

Phenocal likewise contains 7-keto-DHEA, a safe alternative to the controversial drug DHEA that has been linked to cancer. Dr. Henry Lardy of the University of Wisconsin Department of Biochemistry said 7-keto is more potent than DHEA in stimulating liver enzymes responsible for thermogenesis (burning calories) without the nasty side effects of the latter. Recent studies show that 7-keto also increased the activity of enzymes associated with metabolism, causing a dramatic impact in the way calories are burned. The University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago said that in one clinical trial involving healthy subjects with an average age of 44 years who were given a high-calorie diet, the group who received 100 milligrams of 7-keto twice daily lost a significant amount of weight and body fat in four to eight weeks.

Glucomannan’s role in weight loss is well established. In one study published in the International Journal of Obesity, 20 obese patients who received two 500-milligram tablets of glucomannan daily prior to each of the three meals who didn’t change their eating or exercise habits lost an average of over 5 pounds over an eight-week period. Serum cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol were also significantly reduced and no adverse reactions were reported.

There’s no magic bullet for losing weight. Eat healthier, low-calorie foods, watch portion sizes, and engage in regular physical activity. While other diet products rely mainly on slick marketing techniques, sexy bodies, and a classy image to sell, Phenocal’s strength lies in its solid proprietary base blend of ingredients. This product is not for everyone though. The product should not be used by adolescents less than 18 years of age. Also, the product appears to be best suited for those who are significantly overweight.

David Adler an avid health and fitness enthusiast as well as published author. Many of his insightful articles can be found at the premier online health news magazine http://www.consumerhealthdigest.com

As overweight, including morbid obesity, continues to increase among the population of the United States, and traditional weight loss programs have proven ineffective in stemming the tide, hundreds of thousands of people have turned to bariatric surgery. There were 103,000 bariatric surgeries performed in the United States in 2003 alone. A recent article, “Neurologic complications of gastric bypass surgery for morbid obesity,” in the journal Neurology described 26 patients with major and disabling neurologic conditions attributed to bariatric surgery.

The study by Juhasz-Pocsine, et al, found neurologic complications in these patients affecting most regions of the nervous system: encephalopathy (degenerative brain disease), optic neuropathy (damage to the optic nerve), myelopathy (damage to the spinal cord), polyradiculoneuropathy (multiple nerves not working properly), and polyneuropathy (peripheral nerves throughout the body malfunctioning). The primary cause appeared to be multiple nutritional deficiencies secondary to bariatric surgery. Their findings indicate that such problems can occur decades after surgery, or may show up acutely.

Proper follow-up care to gastric bypass surgery includes vitamin and mineral supplements, and visits with medical nutritionists. Many who undergo the surgery have no follow-up care. Prior estimates of neurologic complications range from 5 - 16%, but including long-term follow-up (a decade or more) may have the true percentage of patients suffering from such complications be found to be much higher. Keep in mind that the possible negative effects of bypass surgery must be weighed against the possible negative effects of morbid obesity. Careful weighing of the positives and negatives with various options is required of the informed consumer.

There is so much misleading, and frankly, erroneous information on weight loss that many are led astray. Approximately $75 billion dollars is spent annually in the United States on obesity-related medical expenditures. This represents serious suffering for millions of people.

Finding your own way, with the serious problems associated with overweight on one-side, and potentially catastrophic unintended side-effects of “cures” on the other, presents what has been described as a “horrendous quandary.” Some may turn from this quandary, bury their head in the sand, and in effect, give up. That’s not a recommended solution. Finding a guide to weight loss and weight management and making it your own is key.

At Personal Fit Weight Loss Guide we will help keep you informed and aware of the latest in scientific information, such as that gleaned from the journal, Neurology. Increasing awareness, including awareness of unintended consequences, is one of the best methods for finding your way in the morass of misinformation on weight loss and weight management. There may not be anything easy about an “easy fix” in the long run.

Personal Fit Weight Loss Guide dx.doi.org/10.2121/Weight-Loss-Guide-060107

© 2007 Healthiness, Inc. -This article may only be reprinted in its entirety, unedited and with all links intact.

Senior Health Correspondent, J. Bridge, keeps a close and critical watch on popular weight loss publications on the web and in print.

It is common knowledge that obesity surgery is on the rise but the latest statistics make chilling reading. Perhaps most surprising though is the fact that the same report, issued by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, shows that the cost of gastric bypass surgery is actually falling.

In 1998 there were a total of 13,386 bariatric surgeries performed and this figure rose to a staggering 121,055 procedures by 2004 – the most recent year for which figures are available. By contrast however the average cost of surgery fell from $10,970 to $10,395 in the same period. These figures are quoted at 2004 levels adjusted for inflation and represent the cost of inpatient care but do not include physician fees.

The vast majority of surgeries were seen between the ages of 55 and 64 (which accounted for about 85% of all surgeries) and was far more common amongst women than men, with women accounting for some 82% of surgeries.

The report also reveals that during this period gastric bypass surgery (in which the stomach is reduced in size and a section of the intestine is bypassed to reduce food absorption) remained the most popular form of surgery and accounted for some 94% of all procedures.

The report covers all forms of bariatric surgery including gastric bypass operations, vertical banded gastroplasty and gastric banding or ‘lap band’ surgery and also takes into account many newly introduced techniques such as laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding and robotic surgery. As however some of the latest weight loss surgical techniques have only recently gained approval from the FDA it is likely that the next set of statistics to be released will show a drop in gastric bypass surgery in favor of such procedures as lap banding.

In 1998 the overall hospital costs for bariatric surgery amounted to $147 million and, by 2004, this figure had risen to $1.3 billion. In 2004 approximately 78% of surgeries were paid for by private insurance, 7% were funded by Medicare and 5% were funded Medicaid. Most surprisingly only 5% of surgeries were uninsured which would seem to finally lay the myth to rest that it is virtually impossible to get your insurance company to meet the cost of gastric bypass surgery.

As obesity continues to grow at an alarming rate and overall costs soar it will be interesting to see just how the cost of gastric bypass surgery will met over the next few years.

GastricBypassFacts.info is a substantial resource center providing information on all aspects of gastric bypass surgery and includes a number or articles covering such things as the cost of gastric bypass surgery.

This article may seem a little obvious to most people, especially people who are overweight, but believe it or not, there are factors involved with being overweight that many people are not aware of. They think it all comes down to eating too much. Ironically, it’s got very little to do with how much you eat, but more to do with WHAT you eat as well as factors that have nothing to do with eating at all. Bet that comes as a shock to you? Well, after reading this article, you may find quite a few things shocking as to why you’re having so much trouble fitting into that new cocktail dress or speedo.

Let me start off by saying that you can eat as much as you want and still maintain your ideal weight. If you’re thinking this is voodoo, it’s not. See, the general concept of how we gain a pound and lose a pound is very simple. The best way to explain this is with an example. But first let me explain what a calorie is. Yes, the evil culprit to this whole vicious cycle of gaining and losing weight.

A calorie, to keep this as simple as possible, is the amount of energy that goes into our bodies in order to give us fuel to operate. If we get just the right amount of calories, then our weight stays where it is. However, if we take in more calories than we need because we don’t burn as much as we’d like, then the excess calories just sit in our bodies. When this happens, those calories turn to fat and that’s how we gain weight.

Okay, remember I said that gaining weight had nothing to do with how much food we ate? This is true to an extent. Naturally, I guess we could force ourselves to eat enough food to gain weight even if we at the right kinds of food. It would just be a lot harder to do than if we lived on a diet of Devil Dogs and Yodels. But I digress. The main reason people are overweight is because they take in more calories than they burn. Do that over a long enough period of time and you will gain weight. Take in enough calories and you’ll gain a lot of weight. It’s not rocket science.

Eventually, we’ll get to the actual part of dieting, which, when all is said in done, comes down to taking in fewer calories than you burn in a day. That is where the underlying reasons come in for why were are overweight, which come down to these few things.

The first is that we eat the wrong foods and too many of the wrong foods. A Whopper from Burger King has more calories than an average person needs for a whole day. So if you live on a diet of Whoppers, and mind you, this is just one meal in your day, you WILL gain weight, and a lot of it. There is just no way around this.

The second thing is that we don’t exercise enough. The only way we burn a significant amount of calories is by exercising. If we sit in a chair all day long, there are only so many calories we’re going to burn.

The third thing, unfortunately, is heredity. Some people have slow metabolisms, usually inherited from one of their parents. This makes burning calories that much harder. These are usually the most difficult cases in losing weight, but it is still possible to do so.

In our next article in this series, we’ll get into the area of dealing with being overweight. This is more than just going on a diet.

Sincerely,

Karl Warren

Karl Warren is the owner of ‘Fight Your Flab… Fast’ - a new site dedicated to helping you achieve your perfect body. If you are serious about losing weight, or you simply want to slim down a little, you should check out http://www.fightyourflabfast.com/blog now.