| Anti-Obesity Drugs vs Lap Banding
Obesity is a health problem affecting the population worldwide, which is often referred to as "globesity" because of its global incidence, classified in 1998 as a growing epidemic condition by World Health Organization (WHO). Traditional methods to lose weight are ineffective to combat this problem, so it is necessary to seek other types of procedures and treatments, such as lap band gastric banding as an example.
When the World Health Organization warned all countries, urging them to take immediate action to prevent millions from suffering serious health problems, many people found the answer in bariatric procedures but others opted for anti-obesity drugs. Bariatric procedures include surgeries such as lap band gastric banding, gastric bypass surgery, and others that reduce the size of the stomach to limit and control the intake of food, reducing the absorption of calories.
Anti-obesity drugs are medications that suppress the appetite and increase the body's metabolism by interfering with the body's ability to absorb nutrients in food. Generally causing many more side effects than bariatric procedures and with results that last for the time a person is taking drugs such as stimulants and anorectics, also known as anorexigenics.
However, there is a remarkable difference between anti-obesity drugs prescribed as pharmacological treatment for morbid obesity, and "miraculous" over-the-counter diet pills that anyone can get when trying to control their fatness or to lose weight. Contrary to drugs, bariatric procedures are controlled by physicians, as an example, you cannot undergo lap band gastric banding without being medically evaluated first.
Related to health risks and side effects, obesity drugs can be the source of severe and even life-threatening side effects, such as what happened with Fen-phen, an anorectic made up of 2 drugs, fenfluramine and phentermine. Typical side effects of anti-obesity drugs include insomnia, restlessness, agitation, faster heart rate, palpitations, high blood pressure, closed-angle glaucoma, and drug addiction.
On the other hand, the poor alimentation after bariatric procedures is a serious risk for malnutrition that eventually leads to other major health risks. However, bariatric surgeries require a mandatory and prescribed nutritional supplementation, including vitamins, whether after restrictive procedures (i.e. lap band gastric banding) or malabsorbative surgeries (i.e. Roux-en-Y gastric bypass)
There are a large number of bariatric options available to treat obesity that can be carried out safely (i.e. lap band gastric banding) because risks of side effects and mortality are very reduced. Common side effects range from nausea, vomiting and dehydration to food intolerance and changed bowel habits, in addition to circumstantial issues such as pregnancy.
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