“Rising Trend of Bariatric Surgery in US for Teens and Children: Study Reveals”

A new study published Tuesday reveals that an increasing number of US teens and children are undergoing bariatric surgery to lose weight, making it a common and easy way to treat the problem.

Data published on JAMA Pediatrics suggesting that the number of metabolic and bariatric surgeries completed among youth ages 10 to 19 has increased since 2016, which was strong in the first two years of the COVID lockdown days.

On the other hand, the number of such operations falls on adults at the same time.

The number of young people seeking surgery jumped to 19% between 2020 and 2021.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), childhood obesity is a serious problem in the US.

“It affects around 1 in 5 children and adolescents – nearly 15 million between the ages of 2 and 19. And severe obesity, which is when a person’s body mass index is at least 20% higher than what is considered obese, is becoming very prevalent.”

Two types of surgery, Metabolic and Bariatric surgery, change the stomach and intestines in a way that affects how the body absorbs food.

This can lead to changes in food consumption, as a person may feel less hungry and more full.

The authors suggest that this weight loss surgery has historically been underutilized due to barriers to access, including low referral rates from pediatricians and poor insurance coverage.

They also said: “But earlier this year, the American Academy of Pediatrics published new guidelines for the treatment of obesity. New guidelines urge the immediate use of behavioral therapy and lifestyle changes and, for the first time, recommend surgery and drugs for some young people. person. Severely obese adolescents in particular should be evaluated for surgery.”

Sarah Messiah, professor and researcher of child obesity at the UTHealth Houston School of Public Health and one of the authors of the study argues that “these data show us that adolescents and their families are indeed interested in having surgery as a treatment option if they are given access and a good candidate. .”

He goes on to add that “many studies show that risk factors for cardiometabolic disease are powerful from childhood through adulthood and surgery is a safe and effective treatment option that allows adolescents to age into adulthood more healthily.”