Obesity is worldwide problem. There are millions worldwide who are suffering from this disease. In the United States, there are about 12.5 million children and adolescents who are overweight. Children are also suffering from the diseases associated with obesity and disease traditionally seen only in older people, like diabetes and heart disease. Because of these health problems, they are looking for weight-loss options and gastric bypass surgery is one of them.

Gastric bypass surgery is not the popular among the young population though. About 1% of those who undergo the procedure are teens according to the survey reported in Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine in March 2007. There is a relative increase on the number of teens undergoing the procedure, but still remains unpopular or uncommon.

Sadly, obese children think that they are living a kind of life like those who have cancer and undergoing chemotherapy, according to the survey done by the Journal of the American Medical Association. Teens suffering from obesity would deal with being teased, socially not accepted, and unable to participate in social activities.

Not all obese teens are recommended to undergo gastric bypass surgery. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2004, there are guidelines that should be considered before a teen or an adolescent is recommended for gastric bypass or any weight-loss surgery:

Failed to lose weight by any organized attempt of weight management for the last six or more months, with an assistance of a doctor.

Have reached a physiological and skeletal maturity. Adolescents that have reached an age (or older) of 13 years old for girls and 15 years old for boys have reached this level of maturity.

Has a body mass index (BMI) of more than 40 associated with severe obesity-related problems. Has body mass index of more than 50 even though there are no serious obesity-related problems.

There are medical and physiological examinations and evaluations performed before the surgery, the teen undergoing that should be prepared to handle these evaluations.

In general, those who have undergone gastric bypass surgery are advised to avoid pregnancy at least two years after the surgery. This is to avoid any complications and increasing risk to the fetus because of drastic weight loss. Anybody, not only teens, should be aware and agree on this.

Prepared to follow strict dietary regulations after the surgery. There is a strict diet that patients should follow like low sugar, low fat, low-carbohydrates, and low-calories meal plans.

Have a supportive environment. Because of the dramatic change in their lifestyle, teens should have supportive family environment that will be able to guide them to the different changes. Often times, there are patients of weight loss surgeries who would suffer from different physiological and psychological side-effects, like depression. Families should be prepared in helping their children through these stages.

There are doctors who would say that conducting gastric bypass or other bariatric surgery on teen-agers are safer than conducting the procedure with adults. Teens have not developed any case of obesity-related problems like high blood pressure and heart disease which are common among adults and also increases the risks of surgeries. Teens also heal faster and required less time spent in the hospital.

There are many benefits by undergoing gastric bypass and weight-loss surgeries. Some patients would even report losing 5% of their weight within the first month and about 50 to 60% within a year. Associated obesity related problems are also reduced by having the surgery. However, not everybody is recommended to undergo the procedure.

Even a teen is required to have be able to make sound decisions, before undergoing surgery. Afterall, maturity does not come with age.

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Tired of doing all the thinking on how you can solve your teen’s weight problem? Why make it hard if you could send them to weight loss camp?

It is not an easy task to see your teen child is struggling with the psychological stigma of being overweight. If you collected all the books, had taken all the measures in getting involved with the disciplinary moves just to help in the management, and still can’t find the satisfactory result, then it is time to step out. There are healthy solutions even for the most impossible obstacles of a child’s social problem. One of the good options is weight loss camp for teens.

Weight loss camp for teens is a haven for those who have the problem with weight. It is combined rapport handled by a trainer to groups of participants suffering from losing weight in particular. They could motivate each other as a group and promote positive result. They could share each other’s background and weaknesses, and in the end accept the mistakes and change in time. Of course, it is not a kind of rehabilitation where people can just cry their angst on some guilty indulgence. Weight loss camps offer variety of activities like sports, exercise, lectures and relevant discussions to promote effective solutions.

Weight loss camp is not necessarily for fat people only. Other people enroll just to find the balance in between hectic schedules and for the sake of having a good break. Summers are usually the best time to join a weight loss camp. The weather is just perfect for most outdoor and fun activities to sweat all excess fats.

The main essence of weight loss camp is not all about dreading to be trim. It is built around strong motivation for people to keep an active life, release stress and simply find means to healthy lifestyle. The group can establish good camaraderie where every activity is geared to healthy relating.

A teen can indulge spending summers in weight loss camps, instead of hanging around nowhere on binge gimmicks. Fast foods play roles in the increase of obesity around the world in the modern age since the last decade of the century. While teens are aware, they can’t avoid the convenience.

Staying at weight loss camp will keep your teen focused on his or her goal. If the family can accommodate the budget, they can also join the child in the program. It could be the best support possible while at the same time spending for a fruitful vacation. Actually, the sessions in the camp have to be taken for fun and not as formal training and stressful objective.

After the time spent on the weight loss camp, it is important to maintain the values learned. Make sure the bad habits have been ruled out to avoid feeling worse in the onset of more weight gain. It means the exercises should be given ample time.

The process of weight loss does not get accomplished over night. It is a combination of frustration and shed amounts of budget from pocket. Entering paid programs must come with discretion, unless it is the last resort. The solutions vary from person to person. Some did it easily without cost, while others spend a fortune. Which way is applicable to you? It will take discipline to answer that.

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