Male Speaker: Lovely producer Yeeshai Gross has struggled with away from most of his adult life, but serious health issues got him thinking its time to make some changes.
Yeeshai Gross: My cholesterol all of a sudden you know turned and was extremely high and then I got the kicker which was I was pretty diabetes and this is scared me. This really scared me.
Fran Gross: For me it wasn't about the obesity of the weight, it was about his health. He couldn't even walk up the stairs.
Male Speaker: Obese and morbidly obese patients not only struggle with their weight, but usually have multiple health risks as well. That if left untreated can cause severe medical complications and possibly death. While a high caloric intake and a lack of physical activity are elements of obesity. It is actually caused by a complex mix of genes, metabolism, behavior, environment, culture and socio-economic status. The study suggests that there is another component that can affect the way the body senses, it's craving for food.
Dr. George Fielding: There is a lot of research going into what are these things that linked between and the stomach and the brain, and there is somewhere between 40 and 50 probably different pathways going from the ability to your brain, controlling hunger and which is fullness.
Male Speaker: Body weight and appetite are regulated by a complex set of hormones that are linked to the brain and stomach. When those signals don't function correctly, that feeling of being full is interrupted and that's where many struggles with obesity begin.
Yeeshai Gross: In a matter of in a year, year and a half I put on over 100 pounds at that point. At that point what happens, I think that I can speak for many, many obese people is you get to a point where you look at yourself and you look at the scale and there is no hope. You look at this and you say what am I going to do? I was 428 pounds.
Male Speaker: Yeeshai Gross tried several diet and exercise plans with little success. Eventually, he and his wife Fran made the decision to seek medical help by trying surgery. The type of surgery they selected is called the Laparoscopic Adjustable Band. The lap bad surgery as is known helps combat the body's starvation.
Yeeshai Gross: What the band does above all is just control hunger. And it does that by gradually adjusting the -- so the lap band is like squeeze it on the stomach. This isn't doing this all the time and those all those pathways from the ability to your brain finally kicking.
Male Speaker: Using surgery change Yeeshai's life dramatically.
Yeeshai Gross: Two years ago, if you would have asked, if you were told me that you know I was going to way you know 160 pounds whatever it is. I would have said there is more of a chance of me hitting the lottery and winning a $100 million. That to me was more likely and would be going to way by this.
Male Speaker: Weight loss surgery isn't for everyone. Patients who seek surgical help are counseled with a position, psychologist and nutritionist before making their decision. But doctors say, in many cases the benefits are outlay the risks and patients are living longer healthier lives.
Transcription by:
Scribe4you Transcription Services