Obese children should undergo surgery to insert gastric bands around the stomach only if nothing else works, say experts in Britain.
Surgery to treat morbid obesity is considered a success in the United States, and the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has given approval to the surgery on the NHS
for patients whose body mass index (BMI) is greater than 35.
Despite research findings from New York University that showed the average teenaged patient lost 50 percent of excess weight after gastric band surgery, the institute does not plan to change its recommendation to avoid performing the procedure on children until all other options are exhausted.
A spokesman told the Evening Standard: These results do not change our guidance.
He warned that patients should turn to surgery only after they have made changes to their diets, their lifestyles, and have attempted to lose weight through drug therapy because of the risk involved in the procedure.
Some patients have been forced to get private treatment as local health trusts raise the NHS qualifying limit to 45.
The Daily Mail reports that some patients, desperate to qualify for the surgery, are overeating in an attempt to put on sufficient weight to qualify for the higher threshold.