Thursday, September 18, 2008

Liposuction for a 12 year old

Does anyone else watch The Doctors? It's a new program featuring 4 doctors who will answer questions, show medical procedures on TV, that sort of thing. This is my new program to watch while folding laundry. So, yesterday, the docs featured a 12 year old girl who had liposuction to suck out a pretty large volume of fat from various portions of her body. Her parents both approved, with Mom saying, "It's no different than buying her a car", and Dad saying she was a pretty persistent girl who really wanted the surgery. Keep in mind, faithful readers, that while the girl was overweight, she was not morbidly obese.

the girl said that she had tried dieting and it just didn't work for her, she still couldn't lose weight. I have heard that so many times, and it just really kind of irritates me. Yes, losing weight is hard work. But it's not impossible, and it doesn't happen overnight. The problem is people don't want to put in the work required. Losing weight and keeping it off requires 4 elements: cut the calories, increase the exercise, make good food choices, and do this for the rest of your life. I guarantee you will lose weight.

The problem is, people like this girl don't want to do the work. They want a pill or surgery to do it for them. Unfortunately, this child will probably gain back the fat that was sucked out of her body because she hasn't changed her lifestyle to sustain the weight loss. And she probably hasn't even reached puberty yet-how will the surgery affect her body in the future? And what in the world were Mom and Dad thinking, to allow her to have the surgery? What about the surgeon? When he was interviewed, he talked about the maturity of the child, she was able to make a good decision, blah blah blah.

This girl is now 14. She will undoubtedly continue to have cosmetic surgery; she says she wants to look like Anna Nicole Smith or Dolly Parton-at 14! this is just messed up. Just do the work, people. Put down the Twinkie and have an apple instead. Lace up your tennies and go for a walk. It's way cheaper than liposuction and your body will thank you. And before I get comments from people who are going to tell me they tried all this and still can't lose weight and I'm just being mean to fat people, I've done it. It took me almost 2 years to lose about 50 pounds. I've kept it off for several years now, but I had to change some pretty bad habits to do it. Trust me, it can be done. It's hard but not impossible.

5 comments:

BeachRunner said...

Makes me think of all the people who pop pills (and risk suffering potentially deadly side affects) to get a rise in their pants ... when the reason they cant pop a you-know-what is because they overweight, have high BP, etc. But why read the signals from your body that you are killing yourself and take action when you can just take a pill and forget about it?

Sarah said...

A 12 -year-old having liposuction is just so sad...what life lesson is she really learning. You lost 50 pounds? After reading your blog/forum postings and seeing your pic, I had you figured as someone who has been a skinny runner all their life. :)

WendyBird said...

I have no doubt that I would have chosen to have lipo and a teen, but no way would my parents have let me do that and they sure has heck wouldn't have PAID for it! I will never understand people who have major surgery when there is another option.
Great post!

Sherri said...

OMG!! That's crazy. I so agree with you. I have never had weight issues but I still agree with you. I stay thin because I work at it everyday! Yes, It's a lifestyle choice and hard work.
Oh and thanks on my under 1 hour run. I'm so happy! Thought of you while running and that helped inspire me. You will be there soon.

robison52 said...

WE runners can understand delayed gratification to reach our goals...but unfortunately in our society it's mostly INSTANT gratification! The girl is a child, hence children need guidance, they're not little people who can make their own decisions...I'm ANGRY at both the parents and the doctor. Best case scenario, the girl learns the importance of exercise and a proper diet and the doctor eventually gets sued!