The Australian Medical Association (AMA) wants the Victorian government to foot the bill for procedures like lap-band surgery to help young people shed excessive kilos. It has put the idea to the Victorian government to fund five public hospitals which will provide 3,000 obesity-related operations over the next three years. Medical experts will trial the surgery, which constricts the stomach to reduce hunger, on 25 Victorian teenagers as young as 14.The initiative, outlined in the AMA's 2008-09 budget submission, would cost $40.5 million.
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Surely such a dramatic response to the epidemic of obesity fully exposes the shabby politics of both the food industry and the health industry. On the one hand, our Governments support the fast food and processed foods industries and then willingly deal out public money in a fruitless bid to stem the runaway obesity problem.<o:p></o:p>
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Lap-band surgery involves the use of laparoscopic techniques (using small incisions and long-shafted instruments), to implant an inflatable silicone band into the patient's abdomen. Like a wristwatch, the band is fastened around the upper stomach to create a new, tiny stomach pouch that limits and controls the amount of food you eat. It also creates a small outlet that slows the emptying process into the stomach and the intestines. As a result, patients experience an earlier sensation of fullness and are satisfied with smaller amounts of food. This may result in initial weight loss but the lap band surgery is still very serious. Any object inserted into your body can cause all manner of complications. There can be problems with the band which may spontaneously deflate due to leakage that can come from the band itself or the reservoir, or the tubing that connects them. Other mishaps include enlargement of the stomach pouch or blockage of the stoma.<o:p></o:p>
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There continues to be a lot of useless words spoken and written about how to lose weight but the problem and the population will only continue to grow until the cause is understood and real action is taken. The reason that the population is getting fatter is not merely because they overeat and neglect their exercise. Rather, the reason for the continual rise in obesity lies in the food that is consumed. With the increase in the consumption of refined carbohydrates, starches and sugars, there is an over secretion and elevation of the hormone insulin causing the deposition of fat in our tissues.<o:p></o:p>
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The answer is simple and radical: Give up the processed foods full of cheap oils and sugars and switch to real foods that give your body what it craves. That is foods made from butter, lard, beef, whole raw milk, eggs, liver, and cream that are grown locally and come from animals that live on pasture, not in factories. Successful weight loss needs foods that have not been adulterated, sterilized, pasteurized, irradiated, or genetically manipulated.
Eliza
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www.informyourself.com.au<o:p></o:p>
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