Introduction
In Germany, about 55% of the population is currently overweight, i.e. they have a BMI over 25. 13% of the people in Germany are actually pathologically overweight. A stomach reduction is the reduction of the size of the stomach with the aim of eating less food and fighting pathological overweight (obesity).
There are various methods of reducing the size of the stomach by surgery, which are usually only covered by health insurance companies under certain conditions. In Germany, however, a change in thinking can be observed. For example, severe overweight is more and more recognized as a chronic disease and is therefore increasingly covered. At the moment there are about 2500 to 3000 operations per year which reduce the size of the stomach using various techniques.
Requirements for surgery
Since a stomach reduction is an invasive procedure that can also lead to many complications, there are some requirements that must be met before surgery. Only people between the ages of 18 and 65 are operated on. If a stomach reduction is performed, there should be no addictive substances (such as drugs, tablets or alcohol), as this could lead to a shift in addiction.
Since the eating addiction is no longer possible due to the smaller stomach, some patients switch to other addictive substances. People suffering from depression cannot be operated on either. The patient must be motivated to participate fully in the treatment, as surgery to reduce the size of the stomach alone is not enough.
Afterwards there are severe restrictions in everyday life, especially the rules for the following diet. The patient must be informed about all risks.
- This includes a BMI > 40
- Or a BMI > 35 (in some cases a BMI of 30 is also sufficient) if there are concomitant diseases, such as diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure, joint diseases or sleep apnea (breathing stops during sleep).
- Likewise, the overweight must have existed for more than three years and all other less invasive weight reduction measures should have failed.
