Either be thin or die: They cut off 3/4 of their stomachs, not for beauty

Among patients who decide to undergo gastrectomy, each situation is different.

Some do it for love, some do it to regain their dignity, but more people, like Yang Tianzhen, the spokesperson for "plus-size women's clothing", do it to regain their health.

"The doctor said that if I don't receive proper treatment and lose weight now, I may suffer from kidney failure in five years." For this reason, Shanshan chose gastrectomy.

She was once an obese patient weighing 190 kilograms. The "Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Overweight and Obesity in Chinese Adults" defines obesity as a BMI value (weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters) > 27.5. For example, if a person is 170 cm tall, if he or she weighs more than 160 kilograms, he or she is obese.

Obesity is no longer just a weight number, but a fundamental chronic disease that needs to be treated.

Too much fat can cause countless diseases

Such as diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, sleep apnea, fatty liver, osteoarthritis, polycystic ovary syndrome, colorectal cancer, etc.

At the same time, it is easy to cause emotions such as inferiority, anxiety, depression, and lead to mental illness.

The saying "fat death" is not groundless. Statistics show that at least 2.8 million people die from obesity every year around the world.

Gastric resection is the ultimate treatment method. Through surgical removal of 2/3 or even 3/4 of the stomach area, the stomach capacity or the path of food in the gastrointestinal tract is changed, the food intake is reduced, and the secretion of hormones that stimulate hunger is reduced, so as to achieve the purpose of reducing intake, absorption and weight loss.

There are two types of weight loss surgery, of which sleeve gastrectomy is the mainstream method.

"When the BMI value reaches 27.5 and is accompanied by diseases such as hypertension and diabetes, or the BMI exceeds 32.5, surgery is recommended for weight loss," said Zhang Nengwei, director of the Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Center of Beijing Century Memorial Hospital.

After learning about gastric resection, Shanshan made a quick decision. She said frankly, "I don't want to lose weight, I want to be healthy."

In May 2017, Zhang Nengwei performed gastrectomy on Shanshan. Now, she is lighter, less burdened, and has a better mentality and more confidence.

Before choosing weight loss surgery, Shanshan tried many methods, including dieting, exercise, acupuncture, etc. Although she lost weight at that time, it was followed by a more serious rebound. "I lost weight from 170 catties to 140 catties, and then rebounded to 190 catties."

Almost all obese people have experienced this situation.

And this is also the characteristic of obesity: it is almost impossible to lose weight naturally.

This is because when the body maintains a certain weight for a long time, the metabolic mechanism will form inertia. If the weight decreases rapidly in a short period of time, this inertia will maintain the original weight level by secreting "hunger hormones" and increasing fat synthesis.

At the same time, the causes of obesity are not only due to gluttony and laziness, but may also be genetic factors, food-related factors, psychological pressure, endocrine factors, hormone secretion factors, taking hormone drugs, etc.

Therefore, "control your mouth and move your legs" is only suitable for people with mild to moderate obesity, but has little effect on obese patients with BMI>27.5. Only medical means can bring hope of weight loss.

Due to social aesthetic discrimination and misunderstanding of obesity, many people cannot accept weight loss surgery. Even if they accept it, they have to endure a stronger sense of shame, as if they are taking such an irresponsible approach to their bodies because of laziness and lack of perseverance. Yang Tianzhen has repeatedly emphasized that she had gastric resection surgery to control blood sugar and treat diabetes, but she still received a lot of criticism, saying that she was "extreme", "wanted to lose weight and be lazy", "pretended to be confident, but had gastric resection for beauty"...

Therefore, most patients are reluctant to publicize their experience after undergoing gastrectomy.

This is the case with Ms. Yin in the documentary. She lost 50 kilograms after surgery. When someone asked her about it, she said that she lost the weight through fitness during the epidemic.

She didn't want to waste her time explaining or arguing.

What can I tell them? Can I tell them that I had the surgery not to look good, but to stay alive? Some people won't understand. If they do, they won't discriminate against fat people.

After gastrectomy, the weight loss effect is immediate. However, surgical treatment is only an auxiliary means to help patients correct bad living habits, exercise properly, eat properly, and maintain a regular life in order to maintain a healthy weight.

A patient once came back to see Zhang Nengwei. After the operation, the patient had lost weight to 120 catties, but later gained weight to 260 catties. After careful questioning, it was found that the patient was overeating and even drank four bottles of red wine a day. In this case, "several operations are useless."

Under normal circumstances, in the first year after gastrectomy, the stomach capacity is small, and the patient will lose noticeable weight if he controls his diet, chews slowly, drinks water in small sips, etc. according to the doctor's instructions.

However, as time goes by, stomach function slowly recovers. If you do not pay attention to your diet and eat and drink excessively, your stomach will still expand and cause weight gain again.

How to prevent weight regain? Zhang Nengwei once told his patients, "As long as you don't do it, everything can be controlled."