The Hospital

I watched the Channel 4 documentary, The Hospital last night. The show documented three young women and their battle with obesity. The programme followed the women in their search for a healthier body. One 19 year old women explained she wanted to look like Jordon.

Their fights with weight problems had finally come to a head and they wanted, what can be described as the quick fix- Gastric band surgery, to make their lives happier.

The surgery can be had through the NHS when following extreme assessments and when there are no other options available for that individual. I watched two young women go through their initial assessments with specially trained teams, they believed they would be able to get the surgery based on their past dieting and exercise trials but the process is more complex.

I didn’t realise the procedure of getting surgery was so difficult and it was apparent that the girls didn’t either. The specialists at the NHS weight management clinic in Birmingham believed their habits could be changed in order for them to loose weight and this is where they got support in order to achieve their weight goals.

It wasn’t until the women were told that a gastric band was not an option that they changed their lives around. Up until this moment they had both lied to themselves and the doctors about their eating habits, to which they admitted in interviews.

The third woman had decided that no amount of diets, exercise or doctors appointments could change her body shape so instead paid for her gastric band surgery at The Hospital Group with bariatric expert, Paul Super.

His approach to surgery was straight forward and I think he only saw the rising destructive nature of society as an increased income for himself. At £6,000 per operation he thought the cost to be cheap considering how many patients would not heed his advice and avoid eating beige food (chips, crisps, pasta and bread) He spoke of this while eating tuna from a tin and a cup of coffee. Are we not taught everything in moderation? And when we restrict ourselves do we not end up craving the food we have banned? I personally believed him to be insensitive and arrogant to put it lightly. He sees this issue only as an income, I know he is trying to overcome obesity by performing the operations but this clinical way of looking at weight is no help to those who have suffered mentally, physically and emotionally that has ultimately succumb to weight issues.

The 19 year old approached her issues directly and targeted the source of her weight problems due to her lacking relationship with her father. Part of the service with the NHS is to provide a regular consultation to deal with the triggers of obesity, it was from this support system that she finally achieved weight loss and in the space of two months went from 16 stone to 14 stone. It took the support of her family and the NHS to achieve health. Although, she had no support from her boyfriend who would eat junk food in front of her when she was trying to cook her healthy vegetable stir fry. He is perfectly described as a skinny fat person – he could eat anything he wanted and not put on an ounce. This would be fine if he did not rub it in her face but it seemed every time we saw him, he was munching on crisps and chocolate in front of her.

The third lady is a totally different story, she had given up on herself and lied constantly throughout the programme about her eating habits. With an obese husband and a soon to be overweight baby, she has surrounded herself with denial. She had to follow a pre-op diet, just 9 days before the operation the cameras followed her taking the family to McDonalds, she explained they did salads but when she went under the knife it was apparent that she had not followed the diet and her liver proved her lies.

I was shocked that she would lie to herself when she had decided to go to such extremes to change her life. Paul explained that the gastric surgery might not perform to its full potential with a fatty liver but the surgery cannot be carried out on a ‘better day’. Following her surgery she experienced extreme pain and food is now very restricted, she has little appetite and liquid is all her stomach will now cope with. I watched as her husband sat beside her hospital bed, also obese and munching on a packet of crisps. I couldn’t believe it – surely it will be so much harder to change eating habits with a man who will not change to save his own life.

I found this to be a roller-coaster of emotions for myself let alone for the girls in this programme. If anyone has experienced surgery or is about to have an operation or even if you would like to express your own opinion about surgery please leave a comment for discussion, I would like to know more about how you feel. We also have groups in the community where you can meet like minded individuals and discuss your topic openly.