Recent Study Reveals Startling Gender Gap in Weight Loss
Despite the fact that obesity affects more men than women, up to 80% of bariatric surgeries are performed on female patients, notes University Bariatrics
LOS ANGELES, May 12, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Severe obesity is a serious condition that is the cause of numerous major health illnesses and ailments. Many of these negative health effects are quite debilitating, reduce the quality of life, and can even end one's life prematurely due to major conditions which include heart attack and stroke. For severely obese individuals, the medical community has long advocated weight loss surgery as the best means of reversing health complications, but, according to a recent study, women are far more likely to pursue this option than men. Meanwhile, highly trained experts like Dr. Amir Mehran are dedicated to providing highly effective and safe bariatric surgery in Thousand Oaks and beyond for patients of all backgrounds, and stand by the importance of providing weight loss solutions to both sexes.
According to a study recently published in the National Library of Medicine, though obesity rates in America are nearly even for men and women, 80% of the patients who receive bariatric surgery are female. The University of California San Diego studied 190,705 patients in the U.S. who underwent a bariatric procedure between 1998 and 2010. What they found was an 80/20 split that remained consistent each year.
Researchers suggested several factors that could be at the root of such lopsided results and found several potential causes. The first is that fewer men have health insurance, or are able to qualify for surgery. Also, men show less concern with their health as they age compared to women, according to the study. Finally, men report having less body image issues compared to their female peers, which could be the single greatest contributing factor.
The researchers identify another study that indicates obese men are more content with their body than women. Up to 94% of overweight and obese men report feeling satisfied with their bodies, compared to only 56.7% of women. Researchers added that the gender gap for California is much higher than the national average, a fact worth noting for those considering bariatric surgery in Simi Valley and elsewhere.
Though body image can have a lot to do with why a severely obese individual might pursue weight loss surgery, Dr. Mehran would like to remind the public that the fight against severe obesity is a health issue and not a cosmetic one. Though severely obese men may be more likely to be content with their body image than women, it's still important that they seek a solution such as the Thousand Oaks weight loss surgery offered by University Bariatrics to improve the quality of their life. For more information on the procedures offered by University Bariatrics call 805-379-9796 or visit them online at their website.
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SOURCE University Bariatrics
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