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Men's Health Information


 

Even though obesity affects women and men equally, a UC Davis study shows that obese women are four times more likely than obese men to seek weight-loss surgery. When they do see a bariatric surgeon, male patients tend to be older, more obese and sicker than women.

“It is important for men to realize that obesity poses a serious threat to their health and lifespans,” said Mohamed Ali, senior author of the study and chief of bariatric surgery at UC Davis. “A patient who is 100 pounds or more above his ideal body weight poses a therapeutic dilemma and should be referred to a surgeon.”

For the study, published in the December 2013 issue of Surgical Endoscopy, Ali and his colleagues collected information from 1,368 patients who were evaluated for bariatric surgery at UC Davis between 2002 and 2006. A vast majority of them — nearly 82 percent — were female.

Both men and women in the study were likely to be affected by weight-related conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, elevated cholesterol and fat levels in the blood, gastroesophageal reflux disease, musculoskeletal peripheral disease, back pain, depression and metabolic syndrome, a combination of conditions that increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Article credited: http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/publish/news/newsroom/8564