Surgery for obese kids

The blogosphere was whipped into a frenzy over proposals to staple obese children's stomachs.

Sheana on SeeWorthy is horrified by the proposals: "The thought of children being offered stomach stapling, gastric bypass and liposuction on a massive scale is more than unsettling - it's terrifying.

"It's bad enough that adults are being pressured to have their bodies surgically altered so they can lose weight, and now people want to offer this option to children - whose bodies change so rapidly, and who are already at an emotionally fragile time? Scary stuff."

And Merlin worries about the message such drastic action sends out to children: "Yes, obesity needs to be controlled, but resorting to stomach stapling is the wrong way to go about it.

"Especially in children, what is needed is education so that they can go on to live healthy lives. Teaching children that bad eating and exercise habits can be fixed just by surgery is entirely the wrong message and will lead to future problems."

The Provocative Cynic agrees, believing that the deeper issues need to be addressed first: "To be funnelled down the surgical route, (which is cheap in comparison to therapy), with no treatment whatsoever for the emotional and psychiatric issues that led them to eat themselves almost to death.

"Could it be that the 'experts' simply cannot spare the time to look at the deeper issues underlying obesity but, faced with a government panicking about the lardiness of the nation and its economic consequences, have just jumped for the cheapest quick fix?"

A tangled Web is not so sympathetic: "How about they just TRY eating a bit less? How about their parents assume a little MORE responsibility here? How about the NHS stops trying to act as the substitute parent to the calorie-devouring masses? I fail to see how stomach stapling can be considered a responsible use of finite NHS resource."

A Logical Voice is also concerned about the financial impact on the NHS: "I think it's a rather drastic measure to allow obese youngsters to have stomach stapling surgery on the NHS, given the NHS crisis, and the fact that there are less drastic alternatives to the problems of obesity."

Armodovs offers some simple advice: "The controversial debate about the need for overweight kids to undergo surgery is enough to make the stomach turn. What could have been a simple advice of better diet and more exercise has been turned into a medical nightmare with far-reaching consequences."

But Libel Settles Nothing fears the image of gym classes at school may be offputting to those who are most in need of physical exercise: "I nuance any recommendation of mandatory gym class with an attached plea that something be done to shift the culture of physical education classes themselves.

"The hyper-masculinity present there is as unhealthy to young minds as McDonalds and television are to young bodies. We can't only do away with one; we must do away with both."

Related links
Q&A: stomach stapling for kids
Weight loss surgery
Health reports