Got Food? - the Scientia Review

The surgical treatment of childhood obesity has been under scrutiny and has undergone much
development in the past years. Originally the only surgical option was the gastric bypass, which changes
the digestive tract to bypass the stomach. However, research has presented two additional options which
are biologically safer as they maintain the natural digestive process of the body. These options are gastric
banding and the vertical sleeve procedures.
Diet
Investigation into childhood obesity has shown that the correlation between diet and obesity is not
as strong as once was believed. However, it is still an important aspect in the treatment and prevention of
the disease. Two main focuses of this section are the low-fat, calorie restricted diet and the lowcarbohydrate,
unrestricted calorie diet. The low-fat, calorie restricted diet does just as it sounds. It centers
on eating low fat foods and restricting the calories consumed. The low-carbohydrate, unrestricted calorie
diet limits the consumption of carbohydrates but does not restrict the amount of calories consumed. Low
carbohydrate foods are meats, vegetables, and cheeses.
A low-carbohydrate meal
A study involved participants separated into two groups, each on either the low fat diet or the
low-carbohydrate diet. After six months, weight loss in the low-carbohydrate group was significantly
lower than in the low-fat group. Triglyceride levels, or fats in the blood, were analyzed before and after
the study and the low-carbohydrate group showed a substantial decrease in levels as compared to that of
the low-fat group. Additionally, the low-carbohydrate group showed a greater decrease in glycemic index
(a measure of the sugar in blood) and a greater increase in sensitivity to insulin. This shows a decrease in
severity of diabetes and a step towards resolution of metabolic syndrome (Samaha et al., 2003). Both diets
showed an improvement in biological systems and a weight loss. However, the low-carbohydrate group
showed a significantly greater improvement in overall health and bodily function.
Surgery
Surgical treatments of obesity have been involved in a typical plan of care for many decades.
However, these treatments have not been applied to children or adolescents for fear of harming the child.
Recent studies have extended these treatments to adolescents on an experimental basis and have proved
effective. The two major surgical interventions are the gastric bypass and gastric banding.
The Roux-en-Y gastric bypass reroutes the normal digestive tract. It detaches a section of the
duodenum from the bottom of the stomach and reattaches it at the top of the stomach. Instead of letting
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