I am 19 Years Old, Am I a Good Candidate for Stomach Banding?

Mary Pickett, M.D., is a lecturer for Harvard Medical School and an assistant professor of medicine at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, OR. At OHSU, she practices general internal medicine and teaches medical residents and students.

Question:

I am 19 years old and weigh 300 pounds. I have tried diets and they don't work. I have had a physical and am healthy except for my weight. I would like to have stomach banding surgery done. Am I a good candidate for this procedure?

Answer:

For the right person, obesity surgery (what doctors call bariatric surgery) can be a successful treatment and can improve health. Surgery can reduce weight, reduce or eliminate the need for diabetes medicines in some people, and can improve cholesterol. It can improve complications that are associated with excessive weight, such as hypertension or sleep apnea.

A group of experts within the National Institutes of Health have identified surgical treatments for obesity as a reasonable option for people who have a body mass index (BMI) above 40. It is also a good option to consider for a person who has a BMI above 35 and an important obesity complication such as obstructive sleep apnea or diabetes.

Surgery is not an easy way out of obesity. Complications and side effects are possible. Also, surgery for obesity does not enable obese people to eat without attention to calories - you might say it is no "cake-walk."

Even if you meet weight criteria to consider obesity surgery, your first step in the direction of surgery will need to be a careful diet. Keep a food diary and a weight diary. If you are able to demonstrate a significant measurable weight loss (even if it levels off), then you will be seen as a better candidate for an operation by any surgeon.

For obese people in their teens or early 20s, I encourage them to keep trying weight loss with diet and exercise for longer periods of time before suggesting they proceed with surgery. These good habits need to be maintained forever, whether or not surgery is performed.