Weight Loss Surgery – Can You Really Pay the Price?

As you may already know, numerous countries in the world are facing a great problem known as the obesity epidemic. In the United States alone it was found that in 2009 around 63.1% of the adult population was either overweight or obese… that means less than two-fifths of the population are at least in decent shape. The good news is that scientists haven’t exactly been twiddling their thumbs; they have been looking into various ways of fighting this weight problem, and one of the solutions they have come up with is weight loss surgery.

Chances are that you have already heard of the term “liposuction”, a procedure which consists of literally taking the fat out of someone’s body. There are a few more types of procedures which tend to be used for weight loss, such as gastric binding which reduces the size of the stomach with the implantation of a medical device. Needless to say, many people are strongly considering giving these weight loss surgeries a shot, and if you are one of them then you should take a step back and really think this through.

Do You Really Need it?

This is the first question that you need to be asking yourself. These procedures were made in order to save the lives of people suffering from obesity; some of them have come to a point where their body can’t take much more of their lifestyle and are in need of a drastic intervention. The U.S. National Institutes of Health have officially stated that only people who have a BMI (body mass index) over 40, or between 35 and 40 but suffer from health complications, should be eligible for this type of surgery. If all you are looking to do is just lose a bit of weight the easy way without exercising, then perhaps you’ll be shocked at how much you will have to pay for the procedure, and not only in terms of money.

The Cost of a Surgery

When a surgery is being performed on you, the body is artificially put to sleep using some kind of anesthetic, which already puts a considerable strain on it. Then, while you will be lying unconscious, surgeons will be slicing you open, inserting tubes in your body, removing parts of it, sowing you, and more. As you can guess, even though you don’t feel it during the process, once you wake up from it you will be in for a hell of a ride as constant pains and aches will plague you for the weeks to come.

From a monetary perspective, a full-body surgery usually costs between $5,000 and $10,000, depending on where you live. If you don’t find the price to be a bit too high, keep in mind that a weight loss surgery, regardless of which type it is, doesn’t guarantee you any permanent results. Indeed, once the bandages are removed and all the scars have healed, you will still be living your old lifestyle and chances are that you will find all the weight you’ve lost in no time… and then you will go back into surgery, because that’s how plastic surgeons make their money.