America\u2019s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new device for people with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of at least 35. Those with a BMI of 30 and above must also have an accompanying health problem such as diabetes.<\/p>\n
The gastric band device manufactured by Allergan was originally allowed only for people with a BMI of 40 plus, but there have been significant improvements to the system since then.<\/p>\n
Known as the Lap-Band, the device is permanently inserted into the body wrapping around the upper portion of the stomach. This prevents too much food being ingested, thus helping to reduce weight.<\/p>\n
Gastric band devices are less invasive than many weight loss<\/a> systems such as stapling or gastric bypass surgery.<\/p>\n Speaking with reporters, the vice president of clinical research for Allergan said: \u201c[The lap-band represents] a potential treatment option for those patients with obesity and a related health condition, who have failed more conservative weight-loss therapies, such as diet<\/a> and exercise and pharmacotherapy, and under consultation with their physician, have determined that weight-loss surgery is the next best treatment option.\u201d<\/p>\n Approval does not come as a surprise to Allergan as the FDA had already voted to extend its use last December. Further, the approval comes after a study of 299 patients, 20% of whom seemingly lost half of their excess weight after 3 years; a not insignificant amount.<\/p>\n Although there were a large percentage of participants (89%) who did suffer some side effects, such as nausea, this did not affect approval.<\/p>\n Gastric band surgery is becoming more preferable for many looking to lose weight, after trying out a variety of diets. While less invasive than other techniques, it is still nevertheless quite a drastic therapy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" America\u2019s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new device for people with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of at least 35. Those with a BMI of 30 and above must also have an accompanying health problem such as diabetes. The gastric band device manufactured by Allergan was originally allowed only for people with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":888008809,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[511,791,623],"class_list":["post-1224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-weight-loss","tag-gastric-band","tag-lap-band","tag-weight-loss-surgery"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t