Being overweight or obese is more than just putting on pounds and having problems getting them off—it’s a global chronic condition that has a number of neurobiological, genetic, and behavioral factors affecting why it happens. Worldwide, as many as 2.5 billion adults are considered overweight, and of that group, 890 million are obese.
Proper diet and exercise are essential both to good overall health and to maintaining a healthy weight, but in too many cases, it’s not enough to see the weight reduced to the point that you avoid various health risks. Endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty can offer a minimally invasive solution to help achieve long-term weight control.
Residents of Kinston, Jacksonville, and Gastonia, North Carolina, can find help achieving long-term weight loss solutions with Dr. Eric Ibegbu and the dedicated medical staff at Atlantic Medical Group.
Weight issues develop for many reasons beyond eating habits, and even those problems may arise from a variety of factors:
This process works to reduce your stomach’s size, limiting the amount of food you’re capable of taking in. It’s done using an endoscope (a long, thin tube with a very small camera at the tip), which is placed in your mouth, moved down your esophagus, and guided to your stomach.
There, it stitches a portion of your stomach closed, reducing it to a sleevelike tube 30% of its original size. The result leaves you eating less food and feeling fuller longer.
While the minimally invasive process is a same-day treatment, your life changes, and with it, how you’re able to eat. In the first few weeks, your diet will change from foods such as a liquid protein diet to soft foods. Small portions of solid food can be eaten in about a month’s time.
You’ll likely be recommended to chew food thoroughly, eat slowly, stay hydrated, have smaller meals, and focus on low-fat, low-sugar, and low-calorie foods. Within a year’s time, you can expect to lose up to 20% of your overall body weight with the procedure.
Treatments like endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty offer a lasting solution that doesn’t require invasive surgery. To learn more about how we can help you reach your weight loss goals with this procedure and other treatments, make an appointment with Dr. Ibegbu and our team at Atlantic Medical Group today.
