Tackling obesity a challenge amid changing lifestyle
Print Edition
After failing to lose weight through diet and exercises, Yang Bin finally got up the courage to tackle his obesity through surgery.
Yang, 47, is 160 centimeters tall but weighs 120 kilograms. 鈥淚鈥檝e had enough of it,鈥 said the former technician in Wuzhong City, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. The excess weight means sleepless nights; he can鈥檛 breathe while lying on bed. It also forced Yang to quit his job at a machinery plant five years ago as he couldn鈥檛 move around fast enough. Reducing his weight is a great challenge. His size puts heavy pressure on his knees, so he can鈥檛 take up exercises like running.
Dietary methods didn鈥檛 work either due to his insatiable appetite, so he turned to doctors at Ningxia Medical University General Hospital in Yinchuan, capital of Ningxia. Last year, the hospital started offering outpatient services for obese people.
After a group consultation, doctors gave him a treatment plan 鈥 bariatric surgery plus a dietary solution following the surgery. Bariatric surgery is generally used to reduce the size of the patient鈥檚 stomach, often with a gastric band.
鈥淚n Yang鈥檚 condition, a sleeve gastrectomy is the most effective option available,鈥 said Chen Qi, a doctor with the hospital鈥檚 nutritional department.
鈥淲e will remove a portion of his stomach, making the stomach the size and shape of a banana. This will reduce the amount of food that can be consumed, generate a 鈥榝ull-up鈥 feeling and suppress hunger.鈥
Yang was slow to accept the idea but eventually did. 鈥淚t seems that obesity is really a disease,鈥 he concedes.
According to Du Wei, a doctor with the hospital outpatient department, an average of 10 obese patients visit the hospital for bariatric surgery or more traditional non-surgical weight loss help on a weekly basis.
Prosperity has changed Chinese eating habits and life moves faster. Eating too much of fatty food and little exercise have led to an increase in obesity.
Thirty percent of Chinese adults are overweight, and 11.9 percent are obese, according to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
鈥淧eople are under huge pressure in studies and at work. Their leisure time is now occupied by smartphones and computers. Sedentary lifestyles, lack of exercise and unhealthy eating habits all lead to obesity,鈥 said Yu Yongtao, a doctor with the hospital.
A growing number of Chinese have realized that obesity is a serious, chronic disease. Overweight or obese people have a much greater risk of developing high blood pressure, hyperlipidemia and fatty livers.
All surgery presents a risk. Bariatric procedures are no exception, with an array of possible complications, according to Yu. 鈥淭he surgery may lead to long-term vitamin and mineral deficiencies, and some patients must take lifelong supplements as a result,鈥 he added.
Yang鈥檚 operation will be carried out in the latter half of this year. He is still recovering from a previous heart surgery.
鈥淲hen people call you fatso, don鈥檛 take it as abuse. It should remind you that if you don鈥檛 pay attention to your weight, it can threaten your health or even your life,鈥 Yang said.
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