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Rex Ryan, the head coach of the New York Jets, recently announced that he now weighs approximately 106 pounds lighter because of lap band surgery. The procedure took place in March of 2010, and he’s proud to be weighing in at 242 pounds.
Lap band surgery works by limiting your food intake and decreasing the size of the stomach with the use of an inflatable silicone ring that goes around the upper area of the stomach. Because the stomach can hold only a small portion of food, most people feel full faster than normal, which can help lead to weight loss.
According to the National Institutes of Health, adjustments are typically made by your physician after the surgery. The tightness of the band may have to be changed so that the delivery of food can track properly throughout the body’s digestive system.
This type of surgery is not a quick fix diet plan. To keep the weight from coming back, you need to maintain proper nutrition by eating a healthy diet and following an exercise plan. Lap band surgery is advised for people with a body mass index (BMI) that exceeds 40. It’s also for those that have health concerns that are weight related such as diabetes or sleep apnea.
As with most surgical procedures, lap band surgery comes with a few risks. Studies have questioned whether these risks outweigh the advantages of losing weight. In 2011, a small study was put together showing that after 12 years approximately half of those who had lap band surgery had to have the band removed. Some of the difficulties include band erosion, infections, enlarged stomach and the band eating through the stomach lining.
The FDA warned consumers about the misguided information that could be found in ads from the 1-800-GET-THIN clinics in California. This came about in 2009, after five people died once they received lap band surgery.