The obesity epidemic is a growing problem in both children and
adults. Weight loss surgery for teens is becoming more common,
but how young is too young for bariatric surgery? Amanda
Rodriguez weighed almost 300 pounds, so she had gastric bypass
surgery a day before her 17th birthday. Both her parents had it,
too. "In order for me to go to school which was high school,
there were several flights up steps that i couldn't get up
because i was so big so heavy,” Rodriguez said. “I needed an
elevator key. It was really embarrassing." Amanda was part of a
study analyzing results of weight loss surgery in adolescents.
The University of Miami was the lead research site for this
study which looked at 890 teens. 66 pounds was the average
weight loss after one year. Teens who had gastric bypass lost
twice as much as those who got an adjustable band. But, there
are still no long-term results. "Why wait?” Pediatric researcher
Dr. Sarah Messiah asked. “If you have a patient that is morbidly
obese in their teenage years and