No time to lose weight slowly! Two cousins ​​reduced their stomachs and lost 110 kg

I weigh over 100 pounds and suffer from diabetes and high blood pressure. The "eat less, exercise more" weight loss method that most people follow is too slow to work. How can I lose weight quickly and healthily? A pair of severely obese cousins ​​in central Taiwan chose to undergo minimally invasive gastrectomy. Combined with post-operative dietary adjustments, they successfully lost a total of 110 kilograms, reversing their obesity and three highs!

A pair of cousins ​​from Central Taiwan underwent gastrectomy at the suggestion of Dr. Zheng Yushu (center), and lost a total of 110 kilograms. (Photo provided by China National Medical University Hospital)

Heavyweight cousins ​​undergo surgery to lose weight and regain health

Mr. Huang, 27 years old from Changhua, weighed over 143 kg at his highest and his systolic blood pressure was as high as 180. He was very afraid that he would have a stroke and be paralyzed for life. Feeling that his health was threatened, he made up his mind to have a weight loss surgery. After evaluation by a doctor, he underwent laparoscopic gastrectomy and successfully lost 65 kg. He has maintained a weight of 78 kg for more than a year without gaining weight again. He said: "After the operation, my appetite naturally decreased, I got rid of high blood pressure, and I am so happy to be healthy again!"

Like Mr. Huang, his cousin Ms. Lin, who is now 34 years old and suffers from severe obesity, weighed 111 kg at her heaviest. She suffers from diabetes but the medication is not ideal for controlling it. She once took diet pills and meal replacements together with exercise, and lost 20 kg in half a year but quickly gained weight again. Therefore, after hearing about her cousin's successful experience, she also chose to undergo laparoscopic gastrectomy. She was discharged from the hospital 3 days after the operation, and less than a month after the operation, her fasting blood sugar and glycosylated hemoglobin were completely normal, and her weight has now dropped to 66 kg, a full 45 kg less than when she was heaviest.

Weight loss surgery is not suitable for everyone. It is only recommended for people with a BMI greater than 35.

Zheng Yushu, attending physician of the bariatric surgery department of the China Medical University Hospital, said that in the past people believed that the gastrointestinal tract was only responsible for digestion and absorption, but in fact it also has the function of "endocrine", controlling our appetite, regulating blood sugar, and improving insulin resistance. Gastric reduction surgery can just improve this type of metabolic diseases.

Taiwan's adult and child obesity rates rank first in Asia, with nearly 3,000 people undergoing weight loss surgery each year.

According to statistics, Taiwan's obesity rates among adults and children rank first in Asia. Dr. Zheng Yushu said that nearly 3,000 people undergo weight-loss surgery every year, but weight-loss surgery should be taken seriously and should only be done after a doctor's evaluation that the patient is suitable. If you do not meet the criteria for severe obesity (BMI greater than 35) and your health is not threatened by chronic diseases such as diabetes, "slowly losing weight" by eating less and exercising more is still a viable approach.

However, if you are already fat enough to develop diabetes and high blood pressure, and do not have enough time to lose weight slowly, in order to minimize the loss of function of other body organs, weight loss surgery may be the turning point for patients to regain a healthy life. Doctors emphasize that the most important significance of weight loss surgery is the opportunity to regain health, and becoming slimmer in appearance is only a secondary added value.