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More obese teens are turning to a radical stomach surgery
A type of weight-loss operation not approved for patients under 18 is becoming more common among obese teens, a fresh study shows. The controversial procedure -- called gastric banding, bariatric surgery or lap banding -- places a silicone loop around the top of the stomach. The rate of gastric banding rose five-fold from 2005 to 2007 among California teens, says the September report in a medical journal called Pediatrics. Most young patients are girls. Many health experts are alarmed by a rise in gastric banding among all ages. Placing a rigid ring around a moving organ could erode the area over time, critics say. But it's seen as a last-chance choice by some severely heavy people after years of failed diets. Slimmed-down celebrities who've had the operation include Star Jones, Al Roker and Sharon Osbourne. Performing the procedure on adolescents is not forbidden, although the federal Food and Drug Administration hasn't approved it for minors. That means insurance plans typically don't reimburse its cost for teens. A more traditional operation, gastric bypass, divides the stomach into an upper and lower pouch. That remains the "gold standard" of weight-loss surgery, according to Los Angeles researchers at the University of California who studied records of 590 teens after all types of weight-loss surgery. They urge more studies on the proedures' effectiveness and safety for adolescents, and echo others who worry about possible long-term harm from lap banding.
Front Page Talking Points is written by
Alan Stamm for NIEonline.com, Copyright 2013
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Show an example of how images in the news media and pop culture may affect some teens' views about weight and their bodies.
Do you see mixed messages about healthy nutrition and food or snacks? Look at ads and photos as well as articles. 
Try to find coverage of another health or fitness topic that affects students.
Surgeon says: "Why do we feel it is necessary to operate on a bunch of 15-year-olds? The theory is . . . that early intervention will result in a substantial difference in the outcomes regarding obesity-related diseases." -- Dr. Marc P. Michalsky, Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio