How can I know if I am a candidate for this type of surgery and what do I have to take into account?
Am I a candidate for this type of surgery?
At the Steiner Surgery Unit we assess each patient comprehensively and individually to offer the treatment that best suits their needs.
There really is no fixed rule that applies and that allows deciding if someone is a candidate for bariatric surgery, on the contrary, a personalized and careful study is necessary to provide the best treatment for each particular case.
That said, it is important to be clear about various concepts and formulas used in medicine and surgery to know if someone needs or is a candidate for a
bariatric procedure or obesity surgery.
What are overweight and obesity?
Overweight and obesity are defined as an excessive accumulation of body fat, a consequence of an increase in the consumption of calories from the diet. We must ingest an adequate amount of calories in the diet to maintain a normal weight that is known by calculating the body mass index or BMI.
In the case of adults, overweight and obesity are defined as follows:
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Overweight: BMI equal to or greater than 25
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Obesity: BMI equal to or greater than 30
BMI provides the most useful measure of overweight and obesity in the population, as it is the same for both sexes and for adults of all ages. However, it must be considered as an approximate value because it may not correspond to the same level of thickness in different people.
How is body mass index measured?
The body mass index (BMI) is a simple indicator of the relationship between weight and height, which is used to identify the degree of overweight and obesity that each person presents.
It is calculated by dividing a person's weight in kilograms by the square of their height in meters (kg/m2).
The formula is: BMI = Weight in kg / (height in meters)2
Calculate your BMI
BMI = Weight in kg/(height in meters)2
Classification of overweight or obesity according to BMI
Categoría
IMC
Bajo peso
< 18
Peso normal
18 - 24
Sobrepeso
25 - 29
Obesidad grado I
30 - 34
Obesidad grado II
35 - 39
Obesidad grado III o mórbida
40 - 49
Obesidad grado IV o superobeso
≥ 50
And does measuring your waist circumference do any good?
In addition to weight, the place where fat accumulates matters. In men it is more frequent its abdominal distribution and in women at the level of the hips. For this reason when gaining weight it is often said that men are apple-shaped, and women, pear-shaped.
The abdominal distribution of fat is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and arterial hypertension and is evaluated by measuring the waist circumference.
A waist circumference greater than 88 cm in women and 102 cm in men is considered risky.
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Waist circumference in women: >88 cm
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Waist circumference in men: >102 cm
And what is my ideal weight?
It is one that allows the person to have an adequate state of health, feel better and have the maximum life expectancy and quality of life. The ideal weight of each person is determined by their body constitution, age and sex.
A good way to measure it is with the BMI, knowing that it would be between 18 and 24.
However, it must be clarified that a healthy nutritional state depends on several factors, not only weight, and the latter also depends on the proportion of bone mass (bone), muscle mass, adipose mass (fat) and body water.