Cosmeticsurgeon.co.uk - UK Cosmetic Surgeons

Many people look at themselves in the mirror and are disappointed with what they see. The person looking back at them from the mirror is over weight and has a terribly looking body, in their opinion. Each year they look at that same reflection and hope that the time has come for that body to change. 2010 may be the year that their hopes come true; they may turn to cosmetic weight loss procedures to take the weight off for good.

The Weight Loss Surgery Channel has a huge store of information concerning weight loss surgery including patient education, success stories, and breaking news. They reported that the Consumer Guide to Bariatric Surgery has assembled a list of the top ten trends in weight loss surgery that they expect to see in 2010. One of the trends that is foreseen is a rise in bariatric surgeries, with more teenage and diabetic people seeking out this weight loss surgery.

Obesity is a problem in the UK that has been slowly growing in recent years. A study led by Professor Klim Mcpherson, of the University of Oxford, predicted that by 2020 eight out of ten men and seven in ten women will be overweight, if the current trends continue. Increases in the number of people who are overweight have caused many specialist to come to the conclusion that weight loss surgery is going to
become more and more sought out.

Advances in types of weight loss surgery have made the procedures more desirable. Some procedures are in clinical trails that do not require incisions. The procedures that do require incisions have been improved so much that the incisions are small and there are less incisions necessary. Some procedures are performed by using a band to cinch off the top of the stomach, making a small pouch. This limits the amount of food that you can east and slows digestion. In gastric bypass surgery a small pouch is created in the stomach and the food in this pouch is rerouted to bypass part of the small intestine. This keeps the rerouted food from getting absorbed by the body.

These weight loss surgeries can cause a substantial amount of weight loss. People who are obese can finally shed all of that excess weight. Once the weight is gone many people will consider having a new procedure called corset trunkplasty. This procedure will help to return the elasticity of the skin and give people the contours that they always dreamed of having. Women can have the hourglass figure that will give them a confident and happy life. 2010 is sure to be a big year for weight loss surgeries.

A slimming pill that can help people lose weight quickly is about to become available to the public in a few months.

The product is called Alli and works by preventing the body from taking in fat from food. According to the trials, the consumers lost around 10lb in six months.

The medical regulating bodies in Europe have approved the product and it is expected to be launched in pharmacies by the beginning of summer.

According to the manufacturer of the product GlaxoSmithKline, the approval of the drug to be sold without prescription is ‘a significant milestone’, since it is the first product in this field which will be accessible to the public without medical advice.

The participants of the product trials who took the pill daily every time they consumed food, lost about 50 per cent more than those who decided to shift weight naturally. However, there were cases when the dieters shed more than five stone of excess weight.
 
An average decrease in weight of 10lb roughly equals dropping one dress size.
 
However, the new product does have side effects. Due to the body not being able to get rid of undigested fat, consumers of the drug are more likely to experience wind and diarrhoea. Moreover, Alli is thought to prevent the absorption of some vitamins and therefore it is necessary for consumers to take vitamins daily.

The product, which is a much weaker version of prescription slimming pill Xenical, will be accessible to anyone whose body mass index is higher than 28. An individual with a BMI between  25 and 29 is considered overweight and someone with a BMI higher than 30 is categorised as obese.

The drug, which will be available in all major pharmacies, has already accumulated £400 million in US sales during the first year of production.

Its price is yet to be fixed, but in the U.S., where it has been on sale for over a year, it costs around £1 a day. Glaxo has stressed that the pill, taken three times a day, is designed to enhance rather than replace the benefits of diet and exercise.

‘Consumers are spending millions of pounds each year on fad diets, unproven “miracle pills” and potentially unsafe weight loss supplements,’ commented chairman of the National Obesity Forum Dr David Haslam.

‘Medically proven licensed products give consumers the option of something which can genuinely support meaningful weight loss,’ he explained.

However, doubts have been raised over the effectiveness of the drug without trial conditions.

Gareth Williams, who is the editor of a book called Obesity: Science to Practice, claims that changing lifestyle habits can bring the same results as slimming pills.

‘Don’t eat between meals, leave out food that’s obviously full of fat or sugar and get half an hour’s walking exercise a day. That’s all you need to do,’ he advised.

A research of patients who have undergone plastic surgery to shift excess weight conducted in Sweden has shown that occurrences of death after the operation are rare.

Researchers investigated nearly 15,000 cases of weight reduction surgery performed in Sweden between 1980 and 2005.

They estimated that only 0.2 per cent of patients faced fatal complications within 30 days after the surgery; 0.3 per cent within 90 days of surgery; and 0.5 per cent of patients died within one year after the operation.

The author of the study Dr Richard Marsk who works for Stockholm’s Danderyd Hospital, reported to Reuters Health: “Most published series are from high-volume expert centres. We have shown that bariatric surgery can be performed with low mortality on a national level.”

The research, which can be found in the Annals of Surgery publication, shows that patients who are older than 50 face higher chance of dying after an obesity operation than younger patients.
 
Moreover, the death rates in male patients are thought to be slightly higher than in female patients. Dr Marsk links this tendency to the fact that men are more likely to suffer from advanced heart disease than women by the time they undergo the operation.

In addition, another research which was published in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology has revealed that weight loss surgery can be a way to fight liver diseases connected to obesity.

The Daily Mail has announced that the NHS is investing millions of pounds into equipment designed for patients suffering from obesity.
 
The statistics which were declared by the Conservatives using the laws for freedom of information reveal that the health service has spent just under £45 million to purchase equipment for treatment and transportation of obese patients.

The number of individuals in the UK who are medically obese and are in need of weight treatment has forced the national health provider to invest in reinforced beds, ambulance units and hoists.
 
Andrew Lansley, health spokesman for the Conservatives defined weight problems as “one of the greatest public health threats”.

According to the Daily Mail, the spokesman claimed that the current government has been passive regarding the issue and confirmed that, if elected, a Conservative government would take more measures to control financial investments in obesity treatment.

Recent studies conducted by government-funded programmes have revealed that nearly one in four children already has a weight condition when starting primary school.

The British government is introducing a new initiative in order to lower the numbers of individuals suffering from obesity in the UK.
 
The advertising campaign will consist of animated TV ads portraying the lifestyle of people in the past when it used to be naturally easier to get more exercise.

 
Tesco, Asda and the Co-operative retail chains as well as famous food brands such as Nestle, Cadbury and Mars are participating in the movement.

The creators of the campaign expect it to “kick-start a lifestyle revolution for every family”.

Health charities, including the Alzheimer’s Society, have responded positively to the campaign, since obesity has been linked with increased risk of many serious medical conditions.
 
“Obesity doubles risk of dementia and even modest increases in weight can increase risk of dementia by up to 30 per cent,” commented chief executive of the Alzheimer’s Society Neil Hunt.

“We hope that the Change4Life campaign will help reduce the rising numbers of people living with this devastating condition in future,” he added.

Researchers have announced that stimulating the growth of blood vessels in fat tissues can serve as a new method of fighting obesity.

The research, which was conducted at Karolinska Institute in Sweden and published in the journal Cell Metabolism, revealed that mice which faced colder living conditions developed more blood vessels in their fat bodily layers and were capable of breaking down fat more easily.

The author of the research professor Yihai Cao expects these findings to be applied in fighting obesity in people by increasing the growth of blood vessels in the fat tissue.

“This is the first time it’s been shown that blood vessel growth affects the metabolic activity of adipose tissue rather than vice versa,” he reported.

“If we can learn how to regulate the development of blood vessels in humans, we’d open up new therapeutic avenues for obesity and metabolic diseases like diabetes.”

A recent investigation funded by the government has estimated that 22 per cent of English male and 24 per cent of female population suffered from obesity in 2005.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has announced that catering outlets will be encouraged to inform customers about the nutritional value of the food in a bid to change the population’s eating habits and reduce the levels of obesity.

A number of catering businesses will start providing calorie intake information this summer as part of a programme that will aim to find out the clearest and most effective ways to present nutritional guidelines on food products.

The FSA has already introduced the research to more than 50 catering outlets in a meeting, highlighting the population’s opinion about introducing nutritional guidelines in restaurants, takeaways, pubs, sandwich bars and coffee shops.
 
The study confirmed that a high percentage of individuals already use nutritional guidelines on products in order to make informed decisions on healthier food and that people would accept restaurants introducing calorie intake information as a natural step.
 
“As a family man, I know how important it is to have clear information in order to make decisions about the food we, our children and anyone else eat when we go out,” noted chief executive of the FSA Tim Smith.

“Providing calorie information is supported by our consumer research and can only be a good thing for all consumers.”

The British Heart Foundation reacted positively to the FSA initiative, but would also like catering business to provide information about salt and saturated fat, which can be major causes of heart conditions and obesity if consumed excessively.

In order to reduce numbers of patients in need of cancer and obesity treatment, the health services are encouraged to be “more innovative” in their methods of dealing with poor diet and lack of excercise.

The King’s Fund published findings from a research which took a year and investigated the success rate of various public health programmes that aim at dealing with smoking, alcohol abuse as well as unhealthy lifestyle and obesity problems.

To deal with public health issues effectively, health services will need to use the most recent and most efficient methods, according to Dr Anna Dixon, a co-author of the study and the director of policy at the King’s Fund.

“The reasons people persist with unhealthy habits are complex. It’s often about changing deep-rooted social habits that can become addictive, rather than just helping people make better choices as individuals,” she explained.

The expert commented that financial rewards and campaigns that provide information about health problems are not enough and should work together with other plans, such as customised information and personal consultations

Earlier this year, the National Child Measurement Programme conducted a survey which revealed that almost one in three children in year six of primary school had weight problems.

It is thought that demand for cosmetic surgery is likely to surge due to England‘s population facing significant weight problems.

Figures published by the government reveal that obesity levels in the state have almost doubled from 1993.

The report raises concerns by showing that one in four people were obese in 2007, which can be compared with the obesity levels 14 ago when 16 per cent of women and 13 per cent of men were considered medically obese.

The authors of the research claim that people are still not concerned enough with their need to get a sufficient amount of excercise in order to maintain a healthy body weight.
 
The researchers also note that the majority of the respondents did not know the daily alcohol intake allowance, which can also be linked to the obesity problems.
 
A number of individuals decide to undergo cosmetic surgery as a way of shedding extra pounds immediately.

Liposuction (surgical fat removal) can be used as a solution for weight problems in conjunction with healthy diet and excercise.

Patients who undergo dramatic cosmetic procedures in order to shape their bodies and lose a lot of weight as a result are at risk of experiencing nutritional deficiencies.

Experts have revealed that patients are in danger if they do not consume the recommended food supplements. Many people who have shed a lot of body weight choose to have cosmetic surgery treatments to improve their looks and remove discomfort caused by excess flabby skin, which is a result of major weight loss.

According to a recent study published in the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, surgeons should take extra care in diagnosing malnutrition before performing this type of cosmetic procedure. The recent study, which investigated complications in patients who undergo body sculpting procedures, has discovered that proper diet could significantly reduce the chance of complications, acelerate the healing of post-operational scars and bruises as well as boost the energy levels of the patient.

Dennis Hurwitz, one of the authors of the study, explained: “Body contouring procedures for massive weight loss patients are major operations with large incisions in many areas that demand a lot of the body during the healing process.” He said: “By carefully monitoring nutritional deficiencies preoperatively and supplementing the patient with the necessary nutrients, minerals and vitamins, I have seen a significant decrease in complications and improved postoperative healing.”

Body sculpting procedures, which include liposuction, is commonly seen as a significant way to help patients dealing with the consequences of dramatic weight loss.