Gastric by-pass surgery
The other day, Richel and I were eating dinner when Richel picked up a magazine and showed me this article about some lady who had a gastric by-pass surgery. Now she was 80 lbs. lighter, or whatever and it changed her whole life, blah, blah, blah. My response to that article was one of absolute disgust.
The field of science and medicine has always pushed the limits to acquire greater understanding and to achieve technology that can save/extend our lives. But to what point? At what point do we stop trying, or stop striving for personal achievements and rely on technology and medicine for the answer? To rely on someone else's efforts is obviously the easy way out. Take this whole gastric by-pass surgery thing for example. Many people have this relatively new surgical technique done because they can't lose weight and it is or will ultimately affect their health. According to these patients and the doctors who perform this surgery, the patients have tried everything and they can't lose any weight. They're still obese, they can't do anything about it, it's genetic, and so their lives are doomed. But consider this: has there EVER been a 400 lb. starving Ethiopian? How many 3-400 pound starving people do you see in the world? Answer: none. Now, one could argue that it's not a very common genetic trait to inherit. First of all, how odd it is that the majority of the people with this genetic anomaly live in the U.S. Also, if you want to use that arguement, then I would say that based on the number of people in impoverished societies with starving people, based on statistics there is bound to be at least one genetic mutation that would allow someone to become 3-400 pounds. But there isn't, I assure you. Which means that being obese is caused by behavioral factors. People can't live without their Supersized meals, or deep-fried chicken, or whatever have you. It's behavior that governs what we eat and how long we sit on the couch before reaching for the remote control so that we don't have to get up to change the channel.
Part of it is largely due to society, not just the individual; humans weren't made to sit at a computer for 8-12 hours/day, or sit at a desk doing paperwork for hours on end, etc. We were made to run and jump and swing through trees and run like heck for our lives from predatory animals.
It's all about accounting for calories: Calorie input > energy output = weight gain. Pure and simple.
But it's a lot easlier to say, "Doctor, fix me." This way, the individual doesn't have to put in the effort, endure the hardship, and take the responsibility for their own actions.
The field of science and medicine has always pushed the limits to acquire greater understanding and to achieve technology that can save/extend our lives. But to what point? At what point do we stop trying, or stop striving for personal achievements and rely on technology and medicine for the answer? To rely on someone else's efforts is obviously the easy way out. Take this whole gastric by-pass surgery thing for example. Many people have this relatively new surgical technique done because they can't lose weight and it is or will ultimately affect their health. According to these patients and the doctors who perform this surgery, the patients have tried everything and they can't lose any weight. They're still obese, they can't do anything about it, it's genetic, and so their lives are doomed. But consider this: has there EVER been a 400 lb. starving Ethiopian? How many 3-400 pound starving people do you see in the world? Answer: none. Now, one could argue that it's not a very common genetic trait to inherit. First of all, how odd it is that the majority of the people with this genetic anomaly live in the U.S. Also, if you want to use that arguement, then I would say that based on the number of people in impoverished societies with starving people, based on statistics there is bound to be at least one genetic mutation that would allow someone to become 3-400 pounds. But there isn't, I assure you. Which means that being obese is caused by behavioral factors. People can't live without their Supersized meals, or deep-fried chicken, or whatever have you. It's behavior that governs what we eat and how long we sit on the couch before reaching for the remote control so that we don't have to get up to change the channel.
Part of it is largely due to society, not just the individual; humans weren't made to sit at a computer for 8-12 hours/day, or sit at a desk doing paperwork for hours on end, etc. We were made to run and jump and swing through trees and run like heck for our lives from predatory animals.
It's all about accounting for calories: Calorie input > energy output = weight gain. Pure and simple.
But it's a lot easlier to say, "Doctor, fix me." This way, the individual doesn't have to put in the effort, endure the hardship, and take the responsibility for their own actions.
posted by V-Hume at 9:09 PM
2 Comments:
You missed my point during that conversation. The surgery did change that woman's life and the lives of her also obese husband and young children. she died from complications while the husband grew larger even after the surgery. For some people it works. And no, it's not the easy way.
I guess I did miss the point. But you're also missing my point. Yes, sure, sometimes it works. But other things work, too. It's easiER to have someone else take the responsibility of what's happening than to toil through it yourself. For example, for the lady who died, I gaurentee that the surgeon who did that surgery was blamed for her death partially if not fully. It's the surgeon's fault. It's not the woman's fault for being 800 lbs. or whatever.
But I guess we differ in opinion. I think people think it's easier to say, "doc, fix me" rather than taking responsibility for their own actions and saying, "I'm going to fix myself."
Post a Comment
<< Home