Obesity Debate Discussion 2022

Running head: OBESITY DEBATE 1
Debate
Name of Author
Institution
Date of Submission

OBESITY DEBATE 2
Obesity Debate
The safety of the surgical procedure must first be considered before embarking on the
process for the individuals suffering from obesity. According to Herpertz et al. (2015), surgery is
a highly effective method of treatment for morbidly obese patients. The efficacy of the surgery is
noted through the gains of weight loss, reduced health risks and improved quality of life of the
obese patients. However, the process for conducting surgery requires strict compliance to the
protocol and selection criteria. The duration taken for the protocol to go to completion and
eventual surgery is not the main focus, the emphasis is on saving lives in a safe manner (Herpertz
et al., 2015). It is upon the morbidly obese individuals to seek medical attention in time to allow
for early evaluation so that compliance to the protocol and criteria is not faulted. Clearly, morbid
obesity is not a few days affair; it is a long process that takes appreciable amount of time. The
long duration gives patients enough time to make the right choices, give their consent and take
control of their conditions by choosing the right treatment method in collaboration with medical
practitioners.
Consequently, the criteria for a bariatric surgery require that the patients should have a
body mass index which is ≥40.0 kg/m2 for individuals without any associated morbidities. On the
other hand, for the patients with associated cormobidities they should have a body mass index of
between 35.0 and 39.9 kg/m2 (Ames et al., 2017). The selection criteria emphasizes on the
selection criteria because patients with cormobidities like diabetes would likely experience
complexities during the surgery that may hinder their safety and affect their health outcomes.
According to the principles indicated before, beneficence and non-malificence guide the criteria.
This is because the process aims at improving the health of the obese patient and would not want

OBESITY DEBATE 3
to place them at a worse situation than they were before the surgery got conducted. Hence,
selection and protocol should be adhered to as a way of making the procedure safe.
Moreover, the lifestyle choices leading to obesity among most patients could be addictive
and difficult to change. Transformation of behavior may not occur within a day and requires
sacrifice. As noted earlier, the surgical procedure is the most effective method of treating and
managing obesity. However, it should be used as a terminal process after all other strategies and
methods have been exhausted (Karlsson et al., 2016). Making the surgical procedure easily
accessible would be akin to promoting poor health choices. This is because most individuals
would choose poor lifestyles predisposing them to obesity and then opt for surgery to correct
their wrongs. For one, this would put a lot of pressure to the available resources for conducting
surgery for obesity and may threaten the quality of the surgeries due to more demand than the
number of qualified surgeons for the task (Roebroek et al., 2019). The waiting list for surgery is
a price and a cost to be paid by the patients so that they prepare early and book slots for surgery
in time.
Moreover, according to Wadden and Bray (2018), obesity surgeries should be conducted
in specified centers. The significance of these centers is that they are able to provide thorough
assessment of the patient’s conditions and as such offer to them comprehensive approach
regarding diagnosis, assessment, treatment and follow-up after treatment. The rationale for the
specialized assessment and management of obesity is because the risk-benefit ration of the
procedure is unique to each patient. All patients must be evaluated and assessed on their own
merits and not as a matter of urgency without going through the protocols and criteria (Paulus et
al., 2015). It is not unusual for patients to sue surgeons, and medical institutions subsequent to