Health Tech

Lap Band surgery providers network

2007-07-26T20:27:00.000-07:00

Lots of websites are promising LAP-BAND surgery outside USA for a very cheap price. When it comes to life changing surgery like, LAP-BAND, don't you want to go your local hospital whom you can trust and be close to your friends and family during the surgery! Today LAP-BAND surgery is a common procedure and many providers and hospitals are offering this service locally in USA.

Visit IHR's LAP-BAND surgery providers network and find your preferred provider in your area. You can also apply for financing through their website.

Innovative Health Resources (IHR) offering online financing for lap band surgery

2007-05-11T08:52:00.000-07:00

Recently IHR introduced lap band surgery financing. You can apply online and get a response within 2 hours. This service is fast and convenient. IHR is always looking to provide superior health care service to its patients.

To apply online for lap band surgery financing, visit www.ihr-online.com

Weighing in on Bariatric Surgery

2006-08-10T08:09:00.000-07:00

Treatment of severe obstructive sleep apnea is imperative because the associated mortality and morbidity are high. A hallmark study showed that 40 percent of people with an apnea-hypopnea index greater than 20 died over an eight-year period if untreated.1
The type of treatment for OSA in part depends on the severity. People with mild apnea have a wider variety of options, including oral appliances, while patients with moderate-to-severe apnea should be treated with nasal continuous positive airway pressure — the standard of care. read more

-article discovered by www.ihr-online.com

Scientist Move A Step Closer To Treating Genetic Obesity

2006-08-01T14:59:00.000-07:00

University of Florida researchers have found that mutation causes receptors to miss signals from molecules that tell a person when to eat and when not to eat . Genetic obesity accounts for 6% of obesity in children and adults. Genetic obesity has long been associated with mutation in melanocortin-4 receptor, a gene found in brain cells that regulate hunger. This finding will help scientist to move a step closer to solving this problem. read more

- article discovered by www.ihr-online.com

Stomach bypass operation best for extreme obesity

2006-07-20T16:18:00.000-07:00

By Karla Gale

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Although technically more challenging, laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, a common type of stomach bypass operation, provides greater weight loss in severely obese patients than does placing a plastic band around the stomach to make it smaller, new research shows.

Stomach bypass is also more likely than banding to promote the resolution of diseases often seen in obese patients, such as high blood pressure and diabetes.

Although multiple trials have compared the two procedures, this is the first study to focus specifically on patients with a BMI greater than 50 -- with super morbid obesity -- Dr. George Ferzli and his associates report in their article, published in the Archives of Surgery.

BMI is a measure of body weight for height. Values between 20 and 25 are typically considered normal. Any value of 30 or greater is considered obese. read more

- article discovered by www.ihr-online.com

The war on obesity - Restaurants draw the battle lines

2006-07-19T17:44:00.000-07:00

The battle lines are drawn.

At a time when 61 percent of Americans are considered overweight, CKE restaurants, which operates Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr.’s, has unveiled a jumbo-sized cheeseburger containing a whopping 1,420 calories and 107 grams of fat.

A little over the top, you say?

To put it in perspective, the half-pound dressed cheeseburger with French fries and ketchup eaten by millions at McDonald’s every day represents nearly as many calories at 1,345 – without the Coke.

However, patrons making the latter choice can draw a little consolation that they are consuming half of the fat-gram intake that makes up the Monster burger. read more

-- if you are looking for lap band surgery financing, please visit www.ihr-online.com

Scientists find obesity and asthma link

2006-07-16T19:56:00.000-07:00

A surprise discovery by Australian researchers may finally explain why obese people are more likely to suffer from asthma.

Obesity and asthma are widely prevalent in Australia and rates of both conditions have risen rapidly over the past 20 years.

Scientists know that obese people have a three-fold increased risk of also being asthmatic, but exactly what the connection between the two is has long puzzled them.

Researchers at Sydney's Garvan Institute may have found a molecular answer to the mystery, discovering a protein which is active in people with both conditions. read more

-- article discovered by www.ihr-online.com

Obesity Makes Labor Tougher on Women

2006-07-11T06:56:00.000-07:00

Looking for yet another reason to stay svelte? Labor can be longer for obese pregnant women, a new Saint Louis University study finds.
The research, presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in May, finds that it takes obese pregnant women who are given medication to induce labor longer to deliver their babies than women of normal body weight.

The obese women also needed more medication – a dinoprostone vaginal insert – to activate labor, and it took longer for the medicine to start working. The obese women also are more likely to have a cesarean deliver than a vaginal delivery. read more

- If you are interested in Lap-Band surgery, please visit www.ihr-online.com

Soccer a weapon against obesity

2006-07-10T07:26:00.000-07:00

CAPITALISING on World Cup fever, the Queensland Government yesterday announced it would inject funds into junior soccer as part of an initiative to attack obesity among children.

On the eve of the World Cup final between Italy and France, Premier Peter Beattie committed $500,000 to develop soccer at the grassroots level in Queensland, following a deal struck with Football Queensland and the Queensland Roar.

“Football is one of the few sports that can truly claim to be a world game and it appeals to a wide demographic — boys and girls, young and old, from many cultural backgrounds,” Mr Beattie said. read more

- article discovered by www.ihr-online.com

Death risk rises in women as obesity worsens

2006-07-07T19:39:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Obesity is known to increase a person's risk of death and now, new findings from a study of more than 90,000 women indicate that the risk continues to increase as the severity of obesity worsens.

"It's not good enough to consider obesity alone," principal investigator Dr. Kathleen McTigue of the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, told Reuters Health. "You need to look at degree of obesity."

In a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, McTigue and colleagues evaluated the impact of body weight on death risk in 90,185 women enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study. On average, the patients were followed for 7 years.

Body mass index (BMI), a measure of body weight for height, was used to classify the women as normal weight, overweight, or obese. Normal weight was defined as a BMI from 18.5 to 24.9 and overweight was a BMI from 25 to 29.9. The investigators defined three categories of obesity: obesity 1 (BMI of 30 to 34.9), obesity 2 (BMI 35 to 39.9) and extreme obesity (BMI 40 and higher). read more

- article discovered by www.ihr-online.com

Banning Sugary Drinks a Start in Obesity Fight

2006-07-07T07:06:00.000-07:00

No Magic Bullet – But Banning Sugary Drinks a Start in Fight Against Childhood Obesity

Agencies for Nutrition Action (ANA) is extremely disappointed that two health professionals have chosen to criticise the plan to ban sugar-laden soft drinks from schools to help control the obesity epidemic.

Associate Professor Wayne Cutfield and Dr Paul Hofman, diabetes physicians at Starship and Auckland University have publicly criticised the idea as “misguided and based on weak obesity evidence”. read more

-article discovered by www.ihr-online.com

UNEXPECTED CAUSES OF OBESITY

2006-06-30T06:38:00.000-07:00

This is pretty interesting.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Diet/popup?id=2120539&content=&page=1

-article contributed by www.ihr-online.com

Study: Pounding Pain From Plump Puberty?

2006-06-24T20:31:00.000-07:00

Study: Pounding Pain From Plump Puberty?

This CBS News story reveals yet another study showing the adverse effects of childhood obesity in America. But this time it's not diabetes, high blood pressure, or even heart problems. It's something even worse to a child -- an irritating, pounding migraine headache!

Lead researcher Dr. Andrew D. Hershey, M.D., Ph.D., pediatric neurologist and director of the Headache Center at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, presented his findings at the 48th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Headache Society this week in Los Angeles, California. read more

-article discovered by www.ihr-online.com

'Miracle' obesity drug on sale in Sweden next year

2006-06-23T16:35:00.000-07:00

The European Commission has approved the medicine Acomplia for sale in all EU countries. The drug, which is considered to be a 'miracle cure' for obesity, is set to be introduced in Sweden next year.

The study, which focused on 6,000 patients, showed a loss of six to nine kilograms during a year, a more significant loss than that caused by other medicines on the market. read more

-article contributed by www.ihr-online.com

Study: Type 2 Diabetes Doubles in U.S., Obesity to Blame

2006-06-21T11:22:00.000-07:00

New cases of type 2 diabetes are rising dramatically among U.S. adults, a new study shows.

The study appears in the journal Circulation’s rapid access online edition. It tracks new cases of type 2 diabetes in about 3,100 men and women from the 1970s through the 1990s.

The key finding? New cases (incidence) of diabetes doubled during the last 30 years, mainly among obese people, write Caroline Fox, MD, MPH, and colleagues.

Fox works with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Framingham Heart Study, a long-term heart study based in Framingham, Mass. The new diabetes data comes from the adult children of Framingham Heart Study participants. read more

-article discovered by www.ihr-online.com

'New Urbanism' Could Help Americans Fight Obesity

2006-06-17T15:29:00.000-07:00

(CBS 11 News) DALLAS Gaye Kaiser, a Dallas resident, gets up to run every morning at 6 o'clock. She also swims and goes bike riding in the evenings. She says it makes her look and feel better. But she's in the minority.

As our culture becomes more sedentary and more obese, fitness experts say it may take a change in the way our communities are developed to fight the fat.

According to Dr. Kenneth Cooper, considered the father of aerobics, and founder of the Cooper Aerobics Center, the epidemic of obesity in our country is primarily the result of overeating and inactivity.

"A lot of it is due to the way we live, because communities no longer have sidewalks. It's not safe to walk at night. It's not safe to walk with our children to schools or let them walk by themselves," says Cooper. read more

-article discovered by www.ihr-online.com

Radical moves to tackle obesity crisis

2006-06-16T08:16:00.000-07:00

Advertising ban may be widened and supermarkets and GPs enlisted

Patrick Wintour, political editor
Friday June 16, 2006
The Guardian

Controls on junk food advertising could be extended to websites, text messaging, computer games, cinemas and posters under radical plans being drawn up by the government, the Guardian has learned.
Ministers fear that plans to clamp down solely on TV advertising would be undermined without a more ambitious approach and are putting together a range of measures to tackle the problem.

They plan to encourage shops and supermarkets to offer extra loyalty card bonus points to customers buying healthy foods low in salt, sugar and fat. And GPs may be monitored to see whether they are prioritising obesity among children. Read more

-article discovered by www.ihr-online.com

GONE IN A FLESH - TEENS LOSING FAT & GAINING HOPE

2006-06-15T08:06:00.000-07:00

Eighty-one supersize 14- to 17-year-olds who enrolled in an NYU Medical Center fat-busting program have collectively shed 7,300 pounds after undergoing gastric-band surgery that reduced the size of their stomachs and curbed their appetites.

On average, they weighed 300 pounds before the surgery. One tipped the scales at 530, three others at 400. The average loss equaled 90 pounds of body fat.

And the total loss - 3.65 tons - was equivalent to the weight of an SUV.

read more

-article discovered by www.ihr-online.com

Weight-loss surgery generally safe: US audit

2006-06-14T13:48:00.000-07:00

By Megan Rauscher

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Operations intended to help very overweight people shed unhealthy pounds -- termed bariatric surgery -- carry a low risk of death when they're performed at high-volume academic medical centers, according to a new review.

"We found that the 30-day mortality was less than 0.5 percent (1 in every 200 patients), which is considered an acceptable mortality rate as reported from many single institutional series," said Dr. Ninh T. Nguyen from the University of California-Irvine Medical Center in Orange.

"Bariatric surgery can be performed with low morbidity and mortality at specialized centers; however, the safety of bariatric surgery at the national level have been questioned," Nguyen explained.

The current review covered 1144 cases performed at 29 institutions. "The important message from our study is that bariatric surgery for the treatment of morbid obesity is safe at the national level," the surgeon said.

Nguyen and his colleagues reviewed weight-loss surgeries performed between October 1, 2003 and March 31, 2004 in subjects between 17 and 65 years of age with a body mass index of 35 to 70. A BMI of 30 to 34 is classified as overweight, and 35 and up is considered obese.

Gastric bypass surgery made up 92 percent of the surgeries, while stomach-restricting procedures (mainly gastric banding) made up the remainder.

Among gastric bypass patients, four deaths (0.4 percent) occurred within 30 days of surgery. The complication rate was 16 percent, and the 30-day readmission rate was 7 percent.

Among restrictive surgery patients, there were no deaths at 30 days. The complication rate was 3 percent, and the 30-day readmission rate was 4 percent, according to the report, published in the Archives of Surgery.

"There are many reasons why I think bariatric surgery is safe," Nguyen told Reuters Health.

"The majority of bariatric operations are now being performed laparoscopically and most surgeons have overcome the learning curve of the laparoscopic technique, and many young surgeons are now taking an additional year of training (fellowship) to learn this specialized specialty," he explained.

Also, "there are now certifying bodies that have developed criteria qualifying centers that are performing bariatric surgery to become centers of excellence," Nguyen noted.

SOURCE: Archives of Surgery, May 2006

-article contributed by Reuters

Overweight and Obesity

2006-06-14T12:07:00.000-07:00

During the past 20 years, obesity among adults has risen significantly in the United States. The latest data from the National Center for Health Statistics show that 30 percent of U.S. adults 20 years of age and older—over 60 million people—are obese.
This increase is not limited to adults. The percentage of young people who are overweight has more than tripled since 1980. Among children and teens aged 6–19 years, 16 percent (over 9 million young people) are considered overweight.

These increasing rates raise concern because of their implications for Americans’ health. Being overweight or obese increases the risk of many diseases and health conditions, including the following:

Hypertension
Dyslipidemia (for example, high total cholesterol or high levels of triglycerides)
Type 2 diabetes
Coronary heart disease
Stroke
Gallbladder disease
Osteoarthritis
Sleep apnea and respiratory problems
Some cancers (endometrial, breast, and colon)
Although one of the national health objectives for the year 2010 is to reduce the prevalence of obesity among adults to less than 15%, current data indicate that the situation is worsening rather than improving. This site provides a variety of information designed to help people understand this serious health issue and the efforts being made to address it.

-article contributed by www.ihr-online.com

LAP-BAND

2006-06-14T11:52:00.000-07:00

The LAP-BAND System is a long-term implantable device intended to induce weight loss in morbidly obese patients by limiting food consumption (restrictive rather than malabsorption). The device is surgically implanted, using either a laparoscopic or open procedure, to create a restricted opening (stoma) and a small gastric pouch to limit food consumption and induce early satiety.

The LAP-BAND® System is the least invasive, safest and the only adjustable and reversible surgical weight-loss option available in the United States. Since it’s approval by the FDA in June 2001, and with over 150,000 Lap Band surgeries already performed, it has proven to be a safer and as effective as other more invasive surgery procedures. It eliminates many of the known operative risks associated with other types of surgeries and provides unique benefits compared to other obesity procedures, including the advantages of reduced pain, length of hospital stay and recovery period since. There is no cutting or stapling of the stomach or bypassing the intestines. If for any reason the band needs to be removed, the stomach generally returns to its original form.

One big advantage of the LAP-BAND system is that the band's size can be changed to meet your needs. This is not possible with other techniques.

The implantable components of the LAP-BAND System:
Adjustable Gastric Band – a 13mm-wide, sterile, band which, when fastened, forms a circular ring.
Access Port – a stainless steel component with a self-sealing injection site.
Kink-Resistant Tubing – a 50cm silicone tube (I.D. 0.5”, O.D. 0.13”) which connects the inner surface of the gastric band to the access port.

-article contributed by www.ihr-online.com