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Becky in western NC
Just wondering how many people from my area are planning to attend.
Hala. RNY 5/14/2008; Happy At Goal =HAG
"I can eat or do anything I want to - as long as I am willing to deal with the consequences"
"Failure is not falling down, It is not getting up once you fell... So pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again...."
For more Fall recipes such as:
Light Pumpkin Mousse
White Chili
Walnut Macaroons
Pumpkin Tea Bread
Visit my website
www.gingerrock.blogspot.com
Enjoy!!!
Ginger
Baked Apples 2 apples, cored
4 teaspoons chopped dried fruit, (cranberries, raisins or dates)
4 teaspoons chopped toasted nuts, (pecans, walnuts or almonds)
1 teaspoon splenda
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup plain yogurt 1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Combine fruit, nuts, splenda and cinnamon; spoon into the apples. Place the apples in a baking dish (If you have small individual baking di**** works better). Cover with foil. Bake until tender, about 45 minutes. Serve topped with yogurt.
Open RNY 3/27/01 400 lbs - 170lb. Please visit my blog at www.gingerrock.blogspot.com. You can also find me on facebook www.facebook.com/GingerRock and Twitter www.twitter.com/GingerRock
~Ginger~ 
Hugs,
Ginger
Study Finds Weight-Loss Surgery Safer Than Thought
Death risk only 0.3 percent, chances of serious complications 4.3 percent
URL of this page: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_87501.html (*this news item will not be available after 10/27/2009)
HealthDay
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
WEDNESDAY, July 29 (HealthDay News) -- For those considering bariatric surgery to combat significant obesity, a new study suggests the risk of complications may be much lower than what has previously been reported.
The study, which looked at both gastric bypass surgery and laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (lap-band surgery), found that the risk of death for these surgeries was 0.3 percent and the risk of a major adverse outcome was 4.3 percent.
"Bariatric surgery is safe," said study co-author Dr. Bruce Wolfe, a professor of surgery at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland. "Certain factors [such as a history of blood clots, obstructive sleep apnea or impaired functional status] increase the risk of complications, but you can discuss these risks as well as the potential benefits with your surgeon."
Results of the study appear in the July 30 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
As obesity rates have risen, so, too, has the popularity of bariatric surgery. Although it is a major surgical procedure, the benefits to the severely obese generally far outweigh the risks. In fact, the risk of death over time is about 35 percent lower for someone who's had the surgery compared to someone *****mains extremely obese, according to background information in the study.
However, the surgery isn't for everyone. "If you're five or 10 pounds overweight, bariatric surgery isn't for you," said Dr. Malcolm K. Robinson, an assistant professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School, and the author of an accompanying editorial in the same issue of the journal.
"Basically, when I or my colleagues advise surgery, it's because the benefits of surgery outweigh the risks. In general, that's the case for someone with a BMI [body-mass index] of 35 and weight-related health problems like diabetes or high blood pressure, or someone with a BMI of 40 or more," said Robinson, who added that as the risks of the surgery keep dropping, those BMI numbers may get even lower in the future.
The current study included 4,776 people who underwent one of the following types of bariatric surgery: lap-band surgery (1,198 patients), laparoscopic gastric bypass (2,975 patients), open gastric bypass (437 patients) or another procedure (166 patients). All of the surgeries were done by surgeons specifically qualified for this study. All of the surgeries took place between March 2005 and December 2007.
The average age of the study participant was 44.5 years old, 22 percent of the study volunteers were male and 11 percent were nonwhite. The average BMI in the study was 46.5. More than half of the study group had at least two coexisting medical conditions, the study authors noted.
In his editorial, Robinson points out that these procedures may represent "best-case scenarios" because they were done by experienced surgeons in high-volume bariatric centers. However, he said that because the field of bariatric surgery has advanced so much in the past few years, he believes these results are a "generally achievable phenomenon."
Both Robinson and Wolfe recommend that any person considering bariatric surgery should choose a facility that's been designated as a "Center of Excellence" because that means that the surgeon and the whole health-care team are qualified and experienced.
SOURCES: Bruce Wolfe, M.D., professor, surgery, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Ore.; Malcolm K. Robinson, M.D., assistant professor, surgery, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston; July 30, 2009, New England Journal of Medicine
HealthDay
Copyright (c) 2009 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.
Open RNY 3/27/01 400 lbs - 170lb. Please visit my blog at www.gingerrock.blogspot.com. You can also find me on facebook www.facebook.com/GingerRock and Twitter www.twitter.com/GingerRock
~Ginger~
Check out this article.
Ginger
As Waistlines Widen, Brains Shrink
The obese and overweight have less neurological tissue, study finds
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HealthDay
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
TUESDAY, Aug. 25 (HealthDay News) -- For every excess pound piled on the body, the brain gets a little bit smaller.
That's the message from new research that found that elderly individuals who were obese or overweight had significantly less brain tissue than individuals of normal weight.
"The brains of obese people looked 16 years older than their healthy counterparts while [those of] overweight people looked 8 years older," said UCLA neuroscientist Paul Thompson, senior author of a study published online in Human Brain Mapping.
Much of the lost tissue was in the frontal and temporal lobe regions of the brain, the seat of decision-making and memory, among other things.
The findings could have serious implications for aging, overweight or obese individuals, including a heightened risk of Alzheimer's, the researchers said.
"We're all trying to protect our bodies and our brains from aging and this is just one factor that's accelerating that on top of all the other factors such as pollution, smoking, alcohol. We all lose some tissue as we get older and they're saying this is being accelerated," said Paul Sanberg, distinguished professor of neurosurgery and director of the University of South Florida Center for Aging and Brain Repair in Tampa.
According to the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, 30 percent of American adults 20 years and older -- more than 60 million people -- are now obese, while another 36 percent are considered overweight. Either condition puts you at a much higher risk for type 2 diabetes, cancer and heart disease, as well as cognitive problems.
The findings seem to explain why heavier people are more prone to such cognitive conditions. "This is the first study to show physical evidence in the brain that connects overweight and obesity and cognitive decline," said Thompson, who is professor of neurology at UCLA and a member of the UCLA Laboratory of Neuro Imaging.
The researchers studied brain images of 94 people in their 70s who had participated in an earlier study looking at cardiovascular health and cognition. None of the participants had dementia or other cognitive impairments. They were followed for five years, and any volunteers who developed cognitive symptoms were excluded from the study.
Clinically obese people had 8 percent less brain tissue, while the overweight had 4 percent less brain tissue compared to normal-weight individuals.
Dr. Jonathan Friedman, an associate professor of surgery and neuroscience and experimental therapeutics at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine noted that the causal relationship here is not clear. Theoretically, he said, a smaller brain might mean appetite and weight-control centers of the brain are actually propelling the weight-gain process.
Thompson believes it may be a vicious cycle. "Each one is contributing to the other," he said. A person's genetics may be contributing to overeating and weight gain, which leads to less activity, which leads to a shortfall in the oxygen and nutrients that the brain needs to thrive and grow.
Overall, though, the findings really weren't surprising, added Dr. Mitchell Roslin, chief of obesity surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.
"Obesity affects every system in your body. The body can't be splintered. It's completely linked. We are what we eat and we eat too much," he said. "The bottom line is that an obese, sedentary person is going to have a breakdown of every organ system, and that includes a greater chance of impotence and infertility and other things that people don't generally think are directly related to obesity."
SOURCES: Paul Thompson, Ph.D., professor, neurology, University of California, Los Angeles, and member, UCLA Laboratory of Neuro Imaging; Paul Sanberg, distinguished professor, neurosurgery, and director, University of South Florida Center for Aging and Brain Repair, Tampa; Jonathan Friedman, M.D., associate professor, surgery and neuroscience and experimental therapeutics, Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, associate dean, College of Medicine Bryan-College Station campus and director, Texas Brain and Spine Institute; Mitchell Roslin, M.D., chief, obesity surgery, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York City; Human Brain Mapping, online
HealthDayCopyright (c) 2009 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.
Open RNY 3/27/01 400 lbs - 170lb. Please visit my blog at www.gingerrock.blogspot.com. You can also find me on facebook www.facebook.com/GingerRock and Twitter www.twitter.com/GingerRock
~Ginger~
Just the same, I think that what you have accomplished is terrific and I will tell you I am impressed and will pat you on the back if I ever see you again.
I guess I need to get an appointment with Meg and see what she can do for me. I have never met her so maybe she will do me more good than the others.
If you get a chance send me an email and give me some hints at what she told you to do. My email address is [email protected]. Hugs and pats!
Mary
Jimmy Buffett
jenny828 · 0 replies · 2124 views
