As creature comforts become more readily available, and the proliferation of fast foods and unhealthy consumption habits relentlessly continues, it has become increasingly difficult for a person of average discipline to lose weight. This is particularly true of obese or morbidly overweight individuals, who have simply become too used to eating large quantities of calorie-rich food every day, and do not possess sufficient willpower to reduce their food intake. Exercise is also a problem for these persons, as they tend to get tired easily or find it too hard to engage in any strenuous physical activity. Short of locking them in a prison cell and forcefully rationing their meals, sometimes the only viable option of medical technology is to provide several techniques for gradually slimming down, which may provide obese persons with hope of physical redemption.

At the outset, it must be emphasized that liposuction, that most prevalent method of sucking out excess fat from a person’s body, is not and should not be considered as a weight loss technique. It is mainly for generally healthy individuals with stubborn pockets of fat in certain areas that do not respond to diet or exercise efforts.

The least invasive weight loss surgery method is actually a non-surgical technique, known as a gastric balloon insertion. This involves the insertion of a thin silicon balloon through the throat and into the stomach, where it will be inflated to take up space inside, and thus simulate the feeling of being partially full at all times. The balloon is removed after six months, during which time it is expected that the patient will have been induced to eat less, and lose some weight in the process. This method is recommended for those whose obesity problems are not so pronounced, and are not in dire need of surgical assistance, as it is not quite as effective as more severe treatments.

The gastric band may perhaps be considered the midway procedure for surgical weight loss, as it does involve surgery and incision of the skin to insert a device, but is still a relatively safe procedure. This method involves the use of an adjustable ring band that is wrapped around a portion of the stomach. The device is attached to a catheter with a valve leading outside of the body, through which a sterile saline solution is pumped to vary the amount of pressure exerted by the band. The tightened band creates a division in the stomach where a small area is divided from the rest of the stomach by a narrow passage. Since food will accumulate faster in this area than it can enter the remainder of the stomach region through the passage, feelings of hunger will be satiated rapidly and the person will end up eating less. The band can be adjusted as necessary while around the stomach, and can be removed once the person has lost a significant amount of weight.

The last technique, and also the most extreme, is the gastric bypass surgery, which involves the complete division of a portion of the stomach from its remainder, through which a tube will be placed that leads directly to the intestines. The pouch created is no larger than the patient’s thumb, and will result in an almost instant feeling of fullness even after having eaten very little. While this is perceived to be the most effective method, it is also one that has resulted in fatalities due to the drastic restructuring of the digestive system, which may be too much physical trauma for grossly obese individuals to handle.

It must be emphasized that these are methods of last resort, which should only be availed of after all other reasonable options have been exhausted.