Obesity-related illnesses take the lives of thousands everyyear.
In Indiana alone, 6,600 obese people die yearly from illnessesinvolving their weight, according to the National Institute ofDiabetes & Digestive & Kidney Disease (NIDDK) Web site.
Hundreds of diets and programs have offered people who sufferfrom obesity a way to lose weight. However, when those diets andprograms fail, an alternative is a gastrointestinal surgery, whichalters the digestive process.
At 309 pounds, 21-year-old Ball State senior Leigh Young,decided to have gastrointestinal surgery.
Almost four months after having the surgery at Winona MemorialHospital in Indianapolis, Young has lost close to 100 pounds.
"I have been overweight my whole life," Young said.
Involved in a variety of organizations at Ball State includingVice President of Public Relations Student Society of America,treasurer of Alpha Phi Omega, and a member of CardinalCommunications Young said she feared having health problems if herweight did not decrease.
"I don't remember a time when I wasn't on a diet or a program,"Young said.
Young has tried numerous diets including Jenny Craig, WeightWatchers, and the Atkins diet.
"I lost 70 pounds on Jenny Craig, but then gained it all backand more," Young said.
Young attributed her weight problem to heredity and bad eatinghabits.
"I've always been a happy person," Young said. "I did this forhealth reasons."
After gaining 100 pounds in college, Young finally decided tohave gastrointestinal surgery because of a lack of energy andcompromising situations because of her weight.
On a trip to King's Island, Young was unable to ride the ridesbecause she could not fasten the seat belts. She also faced thesame problem on air planes.
Walking up three flights of stairs was hard, and she even haddifficulty getting out of her car.
"(Having the surgery) was the hardest decision I've ever had tomake," Young said. "I felt like I was trapped in a body I was notsupposed to be in."
Malabsorptive operations are a form of gastrointestinal surgeryfor weight loss. According to the NIDDK Web site, this operationrestricts both food intake and the amount of calories and nutrientsthe body can absorb.
Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery, the surgery Young had, is themost common and successful malabsorptive surgery according to theNIDDK.
Roux-en-Y makes a much smaller stomach by sealing part of it offwith staples, allowing the procedure to be reversible, Pam Herman,a registered nurse at Winona Memorial Hospital, said.
The procedure also bypasses part of the digestive tract wheremost of the nutrients and calories from food are absorbed, Hermansaid.
Young is currently only using five percent of her stomach, withthe remaining 95 percent not being used at all.
Part of her small intestines are also bypassed allowing caloriesand nutrients to not be absorbed and instead just pass quicklythrough her body.
Today, Young is only capable of eating a small amount of foodfollowing strict guidelines given to her before having thesurgery.
Young can only eat two to three ounces of food in one sitting,which for her includes only two crackers.
She is also not allowed to drink water one hour before or aftereating and cannot eat more then 11 grams of sugar in one meal.
"I haven't been hungry in months," Young said.
Currently Young is losing, on average, five pounds a week, buteventually her weight will stabilize and she will be able to eatmore.
To keep her nutrition up, Young has to take numerous vitamins,but she has already started to feel a lack of energy from noteating enough protein, she said.
"I was very hesitant of (Young) having the surgery because I hadheard about all the risks," Stephanie Otten, Young's roommatesaid.
According to the NIDDK's Web site, 10 to 20 percent of patientshaving a gastrointestinal surgery experience complicationsrequiring them to have follow-up operations. The main complicationis an abdominal hernia.
Numerous patients also experience gallstones and 30 percentdevelop nutritional deficiencies such as anemia, osteoporosis andmetabolic bone disease, according to the NIDDK Web site.
This surgery is not performed on children or teenagers sincethey are still growing and usually not on anyone over the age of60, Herman said.
Candidates for the surgery have a body mass index (BMI) above40, Herman said. A BMI of 40 is equivalent to approximately 100pounds overweight for men and 80 pounds for women.
According to the NIDDK Web site candidates may also beexperiencing life-threatening obesity-related health problemsincluding diabetes, severe sleep apnea or heart disease with a BMIof 35 or more.
Young has not experienced any major side effects from thesurgery and said the operation saved her life.
Now weighing 220 pounds, 22-year-old Young looks forward to thefuture and the things she didn't think she would ever be able todo.
"I'm excited that I know I will be able to have kids one day andactually be able to play with them," Young said.
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