A lot of attention is always focused on Valentine’s Day but we here at SmartShape™ think the most important heart-related event in February is The Canadian Heart & Stroke Foundation’s Heart Month campaign which raises research money to fund heart research, while providing information on how to stay ‘heart-healthy’.
About 90% of Canadians have at least one risk factor for heart disease and stroke. And being overweight is very high on that list.
Many people struggle to maintain a healthy weight but losing weight is hard. And keeping it off is harder still. It is reported that 95% of people who change their eating and exercise habits in order to lose weight will eventually gain it back.*
The good news is that a growing body of evidence shows that surgical weight-loss surgery is a proven, safe and lasting way to help people lose weight and significantly improve their health. One study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that among more than 4,000 subjects classified as obese, those receiving weight-loss surgery lost about 23% of their body weight within two years and kept most of this weight off twenty years later.
This reduction in weight translated into fewer cardiovascular events and deaths in comparison with the control group, who did not receive weight-loss surgery. And most importantly, this study also demonstrated that, overall, weight-loss surgery is a safe option.
LINK: https://www.cardiosmart.org/News-and-Events/2012/01/Is-Weight-Loss-Surgery-Safe-and-Effective
*source: Diabetes Dialogue | Winter 2015