Weight loss, in the context of medicine, health, or physical fitness, refers to a reduction of the total body mass, by a mean loss of fluid, body fat, or lean mass. Weight loss can either occur unintentionally because of malnourishment or an underlying disease, or from a conscious effort to improve an actual or perceived overweight or obese state. "Unexplained" weight loss that is not caused by reduction in calorific intake or exercise is called cachexia and may be a symptom of a serious medical condition.
Gastric bypass surgery refers to a technique in which the stomach is divided into a small upper pouch and a much larger lower "remnant" pouch and then the small intestine is rearranged to connect to both. Surgeons have developed several different ways to reconnect the intestine, thus leading to several different gastric bypass procedures (GBP). Any GBP leads to a marked reduction in the functional volume of the stomach, accompanied by an altered physiological and physical response to food.
Bariatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the causes, prevention, and treatment of obesity.
A laparoscopic adjustable gastric band, commonly called a lap-band, A band, or LAGB, is an inflatable silicone device placed around the top portion of the stomach to treat obesity, intended to decrease food consumption.
Sleeve gastrectomy or vertical sleeve gastrectomy, is a surgical weight-loss procedure, typically performed laparoscopically, in which approximately 75 - 85% of the stomach is removed, along the greater curvature, which leaves a cylindrical, or "sleeve"-shaped stomach the size of a banana. Weight loss is effected not only through the reduction of the organ's size, but by the removal of the portion of it that produces ghrelin, the hormone that stimulates appetite. Patients can lose 50-70 percent of excess weight over the course of the two years that follow the surgery. The procedure is irreversible, though in some uncommon cases, patients can regain the lost weight, via resumption of deleterious habits, or dilation of the stomach over time, which can require gastric sleeve revision surgery to either repair the sleeve or convert it to another type of weight loss method that may produce better results, such as a gastric bypass or duodenal switch.
A very-low-calorie diet (VLCD), also known as semistarvation diet and crash diet, is a type of diet with very or extremely low daily food energy consumption. VLCDs are defined as a diet of 800 kilocalories (3,300 kJ) per day or less. Modern medically supervised VLCDs use total meal replacements, with regulated formulations in Europe and Canada which contain the recommended daily requirements for vitamins, minerals, trace elements, fatty acids, protein and electrolyte balance. Carbohydrates may be entirely absent, or substituted for a portion of the protein; this choice has important metabolic effects. Medically supervised VLCDs have specific therapeutic applications for rapid weight loss, such as in morbid obesity or before a bariatric surgery, using formulated, nutritionally complete liquid meals containing 800 kilocalories or less per day for a maximum of 12 weeks.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), also known as metabolic (dysfunction) associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), is excessive fat build-up in the liver without another clear cause such as alcohol use. There are two types; non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), with the latter also including liver inflammation. Non-alcoholic fatty liver is less dangerous than NASH and usually does not progress to NASH. When NAFL does progress to NASH, it may eventually lead to complications such as cirrhosis, liver cancer, liver failure, or cardiovascular disease.
Bariatric surgery includes a variety of procedures performed on people who are obese. Long term weight loss through the standard of care procedures is largely achieved by altering gut hormone levels responsible for hunger and satiety, leading to a new hormonal weight set point. Bariatric surgery is the most effective treatment causing weight loss and reducing complications of obesity.
The American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) is a non-profit medical organization dedicated to metabolic and bariatric surgery, and obesity-related diseases and conditions. It was established in 1983, and its stated vision is “to improve the public health and well being of society by lessening the burden of obesity and obesity-related diseases throughout the world.”
David B. Sarwer, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist who currently serves as the Associate Dean for Research, Director of the Center for Obesity Research and Education, and Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences in the College of Public Health at Temple University.
Lubomyr Kuzmak was a pioneer within the bariatric surgical community inventing the adjustable silicone band.
Management of obesity can include lifestyle changes, medications, or surgery. Although many studies have sought effective interventions, there is currently no evidence-based, well-defined, and efficient intervention to prevent obesity.
Henry Buchwald is an Austrian-American surgeon and academic. He is the Professor of Surgery and Biomedical Engineering and the Owen and Sarah Davidson Wangensteen Chair in Experimental Surgery Emeritus at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Shashank Shah is an Indian surgeon. A specialist in laparoscopic bariatric surgery, he founded the Laparo Obeso Centre in 2003, and has been the director of the centre since then.
Pradeep Kumar Chowbey is an Indian surgeon, known for laparoscopic and bariatric surgeries. He is the incumbent Executive vice chairman of the Max Healthcare, Chairman of the Minimal Access, Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery and Allied Surgical Specialities of the Max Healthcare Institute, New Delhi. He is the founder of the Minimal Access, Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery Centre at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi and has served as the Honorary Surgeon to the President of India, Dalai Lama and the Indian Armed Forces (AFMS). The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri in 2002.
Obesity Surgery is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal covering bariatric surgery. It was established in 1991 and is published by Springer Science+Business Media. It is the official journal of the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders. The editor-in-chief is Scott Shikora. According to the Journal Citation Reports, the journal has a 2015 impact factor of 3.346.
Garth Philip Davis is an American bariatric surgeon, physician and author. Davis specializes in weight management and is known for his advocacy of plant-based nutrition.
Fatima Cody Stanford is an American obesity medicine physician, internist, and pediatrician and an associate professor of medicine and pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. She is one of the most highly cited scientists in the field of obesity.
Rachel Louise Batterham is a British physician who is a professor of Obesity, Diabetes and Endocrinology at University College London. She established the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Bariatric Centre for Weight Management and Metabolic Surgery. She has extensively studied obesity, and has contributed to clinical management and the understanding of obesity-related diseases.
Edward Eaton Mason was an American surgeon, professor, and medical researcher who specialized in obesity surgery. He is known for developing restrictive gastric surgery for morbidly obese patients. Mason introduced the first gastric bypass surgery in 1966 and was the inventor of the first vertical banded gastroplasty surgery in 1980.
