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Let's face it. Most Americans love food. Eating has become a favorite past-time for many individuals. While they are not eating, many Americans spend a great deal of their time behind the wheel of an automobile, on a computer, or in front of a machine that is doing the work for them. And at the same time, Americans are getting - well - larger and larger. It's no wonder obesity has been declared a global problem by the World Health Organization.
"New Beginnings" is a program at Central Arkansas Hospital that treats obesity through surgical intervention, or bariatrics. Combining surgery with counseling, nutrition education and fitness, "New Beginnings" is designed to help persons who are 100 pounds or more overweight to make just what the name says, new beginnings.
Dr. Scott Corbin is medical director for the program. Chip James, RN, is director of the program.
Describing bariatric surgery, James said that patients undergoing surgery will generally have one of two procedures performed. The option is determined by a consensus of both the patient and the surgeon as to what is best for the patient. With either procedure, a small pouch is made of the upper stomach allowing for only a small portion of food to be ingested at any one time. This small pouch has a reduced opening leading into the small intestine that gives an added benefit to the restriction by reducing the speed of food leaving the small pouch.
James further explained that while one of the procedures is only restrictive in nature, the other (called Roux-En-Y) gives an added measure of weight loss by decreasing the absorption of foods that pass into the small intestine. This is accomplished by rerouting and bypassing a portion of the small intestine. Because in general it allows patients to reduce faster and more effectively than the Roux-En-Y, it is considered the "gold standard" of bariatric surgery and is the most performed weight control surgery in the U.S., James said.
"With either surgery, patients are making a life changing decision - a decision that should only be made after much thought and after pursuing other non-surgical approaches to weight loss," he added.
There are several hospitals where this type of surgery is performed, James said, but there are few in the state that follow up with a complete, well-rounded program designed to guide the patient through the weeks, months, and even years that follow the surgery.
Nutrition education, fitness education, counseling and a monthly support group are ways patients are assisted after surgery. The support group is for bariatrics patients, those considering the procedure or those just interested in learning more. The group meets the second Monday of each month, at 6:30 p.m., in the Dr. Porter Rodgers Jr. Community Center at the hospital.
James stressed that the program doesn't stop in the recovery room after surgery; it is designed to help patients change their lifestyles so that not only does it treat obesity through surgery, but teaches people that it is better to peel that orange than to rip open that bag of chips, to take the stairs instead of the elevator, and to "make" time to exercise.
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