A Drink Or Two And Obesity Surgery May Prove A Dangerous Mixture
By Donald Saunders

Following years of debate we are finally coming around to the inescapable conclusion that surgery is the only really effective and lasting solution to the problem of severe obesity. And it is certainly not before time!

Today obesity is probably the number one health problem in the Western world and in the US alone almost 60 percent of the population is overweight, with close to 24 percent being obese and 3 percent severely obese. Now 3 percent may not appear to be big figure but when you realize that it adds up to more than 9 million extremely obese individuals this is a fairly major problem.

In spite of the fact that more and more attention is being turned towards the problem of obesity and its cure, it is surprising how much we still have to learn about the condition, including the affect that alcohol can have on people who have undergone obesity surgery.

For a considerable time now there has been a reasonable amount of anecdotal evidence that people who have undergone weight loss surgery are affected more by alcohol but it was not until the end of last year that any real attempt was made to assess the extent or otherwise of the problem.

In a fairly small-scale study the affects of alcohol on 19 people who had undergone weight loss surgery was compared to the affects on 17 control subjects. The individuals taking part in the study each drank a small 5 ounce glass of red wine and their breath alcohol was then measured at 5 minute intervals until it had fallen back to zero.

The study found that alcohol levels reached a higher level in the weight loss patients and also that they took far longer to return to zero. Perhaps most interestingly, the study also demonstrated that just }a single|one} small glass of wine was sufficient to put the breath alcohol level in some weight loss surgery patients above the legal limit for driving in several US states.

The reason for the increased affects of alcohol on weight loss surgery patients is quite simple to understand because surgery reduces the volume of the stomach and bypasses part of the intestine, both areas of the body that are responsible for breaking down alcohol before it finds its way into the bloodstream.

So exactly what does this mean for weight loss surgery patients?

Well, aside from the obvious need to be careful and certainly to refrain from driving after drinking even very small amounts of alcohol, the implications for weight loss surgery patients do in fact go a bit deeper.

One particular problem is that alcohol is a relaxant and this causes problems when it comes to post-operative weight loss and to maintaining weight loss. As alcohol relaxes the stomach, including the lower esophageal sphincter, and the intestine, patients who enjoy alcohol can eat more and the presence of alcohol effectively counters the affects of surgery. As if this were not bad enough a significant number of people are more socially active following surgery and this generally means an increasing consumption of alcohol.

There will still need to be a great deal more research carried out of course but, in the end, the fact is that people who have undergone obesity surgery need to be aware of the risks of alcohol and act accordingly.

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