Although Weight Loss Surgery has long been available for adults, a doctor in Australia has begun to argue that this surgery can also help children. As with any surgery, there are risks though as when a doctor was sued for performing bariatric surgery on a patient.
Doctor argues for surgery to help obese children
The Daily Mail reported that a Brisbane doctor said that diet and exercise plans are no longer working and the solution is to perform surgery on children as young as 11. The doctor doesn't see the procedure as child abuse, and he believes that the Australian health system should prepare itself for performing the procedure on severely obese children.
He also warned that the problem with diet and exercise plans is that they couldn't solve the problem and that it was necessary for children to undergo the knife to solve their obesity.
Dr. George Hopkins, who recently aired his concerns during a speech at the Australian New Zealand College of Anaesthetists annual meeting that took place in Brisbane, Australia, has successfully performed the sleeve gastrectomy on several adolescents.
Is weight loss surgery a good option for children?
Recently a new weight loss procedure was released that is nonsurgical in nature. Would a nonsurgical approach actually be safer for children? The Daily News in Australia said that doctors were urging the surgery to be offered to children.
John Prins, a professor of endocrinology who attended the the conference in Brisbane said that legislation would probably be necessary in order to make the procedure available to children.
He also said that for those who were skeptical about making the procedure a matter of legislation that citizens should think about seat belts and pool fences as examples of legislation that have been accepted.
A tax on sugary drinks as well as junk food was just too simplistic in his opinion.
One problem with any legislation would be in affecting a person's right to choose. There may be some citizens who are happy being fat. That doesn't mean that weight loss surgery shouldn't be available for children who want it and for whom exercise and diet aren't working because they are severely obese.
As with many American children, there are many children in Australia that are overweight or obese. The estimate is that one in four children between the ages of two and 17 in Australia are obese or overweight and that intervention is necessary to prevent a further epidemic. Doctors agreed there must be a consensus on how young is too young to have the surgery.
