There are over 24 million people in the United States who suffer from severe obesity and some of these people might be considering gastric bypass surgery.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the obesity rate in adults in the United States was 42.4% from 2017 to 2018. This is a significant increase from the 1999-2000 rate of 30.5%.

Having extra weight can increase your risk of arthritis, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic health conditions.  It’s therefore important to lose weight to promote overall health.

Although it’s difficult to lose weight, a gastric bypass or bariatric surgery can help. It’s a medical procedure that can treat obesity and help an individual lose weight. Here’s how the surgery works and its benefits.

Gastric Bypass Surgery: How it Works

Gastric Bypass Surgery works to promote weight loss by shrinking your stomach, limiting your ability to gain weight. It’s designed for those individuals who have a hard time managing their weight with dietary and lifestyle changes. There are two types of gastric bypass surgery.

Roux-en-Y gastric bypass:  It’s the most popular type of gastric bypass surgery. In this procedure, a patient’s stomach gets stapled together, leaving only a smaller pouch behind.

Extensive gastric bypass:  This a more complicated procedure, and it involves removing a portion of the stomach.

In both gastric bypass surgery, the primary focus is to shrink the patient’s stomach to a smaller size.  As a result, the patient isn’t able to eat as much food and will feel full quickly.  Both procedures also prevent the digestive system from absorbing too much food than normal.

Upon the completion of the gastric bypass surgery, patients will observe significant changes immediately. They’ll experience a reduction in their food intake since their new stomach will only be able to hold a lesser amount of food at a certain time.

Benefits of Gastric Bypass Surgery

Besides weight loss, gastric bypass surgery comes with a lot of benefits. One of them being the ability to better manage your weight. Other benefits include:

Preventing and Stopping Overeating

As we said earlier, gastric bypass surgery involves shrinking your stomach so only a small fraction of your stomach’s original size and capacity gets left behind.  Therefore, preventing patients from overeating.

And if you try to eat over your normal limit, you will experience instant side effects.  The side effects include vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, and sometimes incontinence.  Your new stomach size will make you feel unpleasant and uncomfortable if you try to overeat.

Weight Loss

One of the major reasons a person can opt to undergo gastric bypass or bariatric surgery is to shed off some extra pounds.

Reduced stomach size and capacity means your stomach cannot accommodate as much food or liquid. Therefore, you’re eating habits will change. You will only eat small portions of food, and you will feel full much faster than you previously did.  As such, the procedure helps to reduce your food and calorie intake.

According to WebMD reports, many individuals will reach their weight loss goal within 12 to 18 months after undergoing gastric bypass surgery.

Achieve Better Overall Health

Several studies backed with evidence show that gastric bypass surgery often helps people to shed excess weight and keep the weight off.  While you’ll need to continue following a healthy diet and workout regime, gastric bypass surgery will help you achieve better overall health.

Losing extra weight will help you become healthier. If you’re suffering from type 2 diabetes, you might achieve remission and stop using insulin.  Also, your good health will reduce the risk of certain conditions, such as sleep apnea, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular diseases.

In summary, your improved health could reduce your need for taking medications for chronic conditions, including inflammation, hypertension, and other conditions relating to being obese or overweight.

Cost

Just like any other surgery, gastric bypass surgery can come with an expensive price tag. It can cost you an average of between $15,000 and $25,000 to undergo this surgery.

But you shouldn’t let this cost prevent you from undergoing the surgery. In fact, getting bariatric surgery can be way cheaper than remaining overweight and obese.  According to research, the cost of being overweight over your lifetime can exceed $99,235. By looking at this figure, you’ll realize that gastric bypass surgery is far more affordable.

Furthermore, you can pay less than average. Several health insurance policies cover this surgery. So, if you’re having an issue with your excess weight and you want to lose it, check your insurance policy. You never know it might cover some or even all the cost.  

Is It Right for You?

If you believe that you’re an excellent candidate for gastric bypass surgery, check with your insurance provider and discuss the idea with your doctor.

Although gastric bypass surgery is safe, nearly all types of medical procedures have some kind of inherent risks. So, don’t rush into making a decision; ensure you’ve weighed the advantages and disadvantages of this procedure first.

Also, don’t forget to conduct your research before undergoing the gastric bypass procedure. Contact various medical professionals, learn how the surgery works, and go through all your available options.