After many years of discussion we are finally coming around to the inevitable conclusion that surgery is the only really effective and lasting solution to the problem of severe obesity. And not before time!
At the moment obesity is arguably the leading health problem in the Western world and in the USA alone about 60 percent of the population is overweight, with almost 24 percent being obese and 3 percent extremely obese. Now 3 percent might not seem like a high figure but when you consider that it equates to more than 9 million morbidly obese individuals this is a pretty big problem.
Despite the fact that attention is increasingly being turned towards the problem of obesity and its treatment, it is surprising how much we are still learning about the condition, including the affect that alcohol can have on individuals who have undergone gastric bypass surgery.
For some time now there has been some anecdotal evidence that individuals who have had weight loss surgery are affected more by alcohol than others but it was not until late in 2006 that any attempt was made to look at the extent or otherwise of the problem.
In a reasonably small-scale study the affects of alcohol on 19 individuals who had undergone weight loss surgery was compared to the affects on 17 control subjects. The individuals taking part in the study each drank a small 5 ounce glass of red wine and their breath alcohol was then analyzed until it fell back to zero.
The study revelaed that alcohol levels peaked at a higher level in the weight loss patients and also that they took far longer to fall back to zero. Perhaps most interestingly, the study also found that just }a single|one} small glass of wine was sufficient to put the breath alcohol level in a significant number of weight loss surgery patients above the legal alcohol level for driving in several states.
The explanation for the added affects of alcohol on weight loss surgery patients is not difficult to understand because surgery reduces the volume of the stomach and bypasses a section of the intestine, both areas of the body that play a key role in breaking down alcohol before it gets into the bloodstream.
So exactly what does this mean for weight loss surgery patients?
Well, aside from the clear need to take care and most definitely to avoid driving after drinking even very small amounts of alcohol, the implications for weight loss surgery patients do in fact go a bit wider.
One major problem is that alcohol is a relaxant and this results in problems when it comes to post-operative weight loss and to the maintenance of weight loss. As alcohol relaxes the stomach, including the lower esophageal sphincter, and the intestine, patients who enjoy a drink are able to eat more and alcohol in effect counteracts the affects of surgery. As if this was not bad enough a significant number of individuals become more socially active after surgery and this often means an increased intake of alcohol.
There still needs to be a great deal more research carried out of course but, at the end of the day, the simple fact is that individuals who have undergone gastric bypass surgery need to be aware of the risks of alcohol and act accordingly.
