Stomach Shrinking Without The Surgery?

My sister told me that a childhood friend recently underwent a vertical banded gastroplasty surgery.

VBG, or commonly known as stomach stapling, is a common restrictive operation for weight control and is usually recommended as a surgical treatment for morbid obesity. It helps the weight loss process by limiting the amount of food portion that can be eaten at one sitting and a reduction of about 65% to 80% of excess body weight is expected as a result of the surgery.

Eventhough VBG is becoming more attractive to dieters looking for a way to lose the excess weight without having to rely on goold ol’ fashioned will power, I still was very surprised to hear that she spent about $20,000 of her retirement money for a surgery that I wasn’t sure she really needed.

All the time I have known her, she’s had a weight problem.

One year she’ll be a perfect size 4 and then the next… well, I’ve seen her fluctuate between 20 to 50 lbs over her ideal weight depending on the emotional issues that cause her to seek comfort in food. More years down the road, life is good and she’s down to a size 0.

It has really been a vicious cycle for her and getting this procedure done was all about keeping it off …. for good.

So when I was in Toronto in February during a business trip, I made a point to look her up to see if the surgery lived up to her expectations. Just at first glance, she looked absolutely fantastic. And wow, it really was worth all that money just to get her self esteem ten notches higher! She has lost 20lbs since the surgery in December and is hoping to keep it off no matter what kind of emotional turmoil life dishes out at her.

Choosing to go through a life altering change like this is a tough decision. Not only do you need to be prepared for any complications that can arise from undergoing a major surgery such as bowel restriction or infections, you will also need to invest quite a bit of money to get it done.

If you have always been interested in this type of procedure and have the luxury of time, then it might be worth the wait to see if a chemical alternative to stomach shrinking surgery can be developed.

This month’s issue of the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics reports that a team of british scientists has identified receptors for proteins that relax the muscles of the gut. Lead researcher Brian King hopes that they will one day be able to chemically block these receptors from picking up the signal from the nerves inside the stomach wall in order to prevent the stomach from expanding, therefore mimicking the after effect of stomach stapling without the surgery. This will make dieters eat less and feel fuller faster.

Since it will be another five to ten years of development before it can be determined if a tighter tummy drug can become available, we just have to content ourselves with what’s available today.