Obesity is a complex disease caused by many factors. It is not simply the result of “lack of willpower”, but rather a combination of cultural, environmental, genetic, and individual factors:
01: Obesity and Non-Surgical Weight Loss
Genetics
People with an obese parent are much more likely to be obese than those with lean parents.
Friends & Family
The eating habits and physical activity levels of the people around you have a significant influence on your health behaviors.
Medical Conditions
Some medical conditions and medications can lead to weight gain.
Emotions
Distressing events, major life changes, stress, or boredom can lead to food intake even when you are not physically hungry.
Lifestyle
Increased portion sizes and readily available “junk” food can lead to unhealthy eating habits. Busy schedules and modern conveniences such as cars and elevators make exercise difficult to fit into your daily routine.
With so many causes to obesity, long-term weight loss is extremely difficult to achieve. Most obese people have tried numerous diets and exercise programs, with little long-term success. Keeping the weight off is often a greater challenge. Even when short-term weight loss is achieved, most people regain the lost weight over time.
Moderate weight loss of five to ten percent of initial body weight has been shown to improve many of the adverse health effects of obesity1. In addition, moderate weight loss decreases the risk of developing new obesity-related diseases, such as diabetes2,3.
02: Non-Surgical Treatment
Lifestyle Intervention
The most common approach to treat obesity is lifestyle intervention, including changes in dietary intake and physical activity. While moderate weight loss can often be achieved through dieting, most people regain their lost weight over time4.
Pharmacotherapy / WEIGHT LOSS MEDICATION
Appropriate weight loss pills can help patients achieve about a five to ten percent weight loss in one year. However, if effective, these medications must be continued, and rapid weight regain will occur when drug therapy is stopped. Moreover, many patients will begin to regain weight after one year of drug therapy despite continued treatment.
03: Types of Bariatric Surgery & The AspireAssist
Due to the shortcomings of diet and exercise approaches, bariatric surgery has become recognized as the most effective solution for long-term weight loss. For many patients, bariatric surgery has produced considerable long-term weight loss. This weight loss has important medical benefits, including normalizing blood glucose in patients with type 2 diabetes5, preventing the future development of diabetes6, improving or normalizing blood pressure in patients with hypertension,7,8 improving or eliminating obstructive sleep apnea,9,10,11 decreasing joint pain,12 and improving health-related quality of life13. However, these surgical options also have many potential complications that must be carefully weighed against the potential benefits. The AspireAssist is a breakthrough minimally-invasive therapy that has been shown to provide similar weight loss results, without many of the serious complications of invasive surgery.
The AspireAssist
The AspireAssist is different from invasive gastric bypass, gastric band, and gastric sleeve surgery. The device can be placed during a short outpatient procedure under twilight anesthesia, so general anesthesia is not required. If desired, it can be removed at any time through a similar 10-minute procedure, with no permanent changes to the gastrointestinal anatomy. With the AspireAssist, there are no extreme or sudden changes to the foods you can eat or drink. Instead, successful patients gradually learn healthy behaviors though the accompanying lifestyle counseling program.
Gastric Bypass Surgery
The gastric bypass procedure, also known as Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass, involves the creation of a small stomach pouch by stapling across or completely transecting the stomach. The surgeon then attaches a lower section of small intestine directly to the stomach pouch. Therefore, this procedure reduces the capacity of the stomach from about 1.5 liters to about 30 ml (about the volume of a golf ball) and causes food to bypass most of the stomach and the upper portion of the intestines.
Gastric Sleeve surgery (Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy)
Gastric Sleeve Surgery reduces the size of the stomach by over 80%. In this procedure, the surgeon staples across and removes most of the stomach, leaving a banana-sized stomach sleeve.
Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Band (LAGB)
Gastric banding, such as the LAP-BAND® and Realize® Band, involves surgically placing an adjustable band around the upper stomach.
What do you have to lose?
Take control of your weight with the AspireAssist, the reversible weight loss procedure for long-term results.
04: Compare AspireAssist with Gastric Band, Gastric Bypass, and Gastric Sleeve Surgery
Use the chart below to learn more about the important differences between the AspireAssist and invasive bariatric surgeries, like gastric sleeve surgery. If you have not been able to successfully maintain weight loss through diet and exercise changes, but do not want to undergo an invasive bariatric surgery, the AspireAssist might be the right choice for you.
| AspireAssist | Adjustable Gastric Banding | Gastric Bypass | Sleeve Gastrectomy | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Excess Weight Loss
|
 Excess Weight Loss |
 Excess Weight Loss |
 Excess Weight Loss
|
|||
 Serious Complications
|
 Serious Complications |
 Serious Complications |
 Serious Complications
|
|||
 Average Procedure Time
|
 Average Procedure Time18 |
 Average Procedure Time18 |
 Average Procedure Time18
|
|||
 Anatomical Changes
|
 Anatomical Changes |
 Anatomical Changes
|
Anatomical Changes
|
|||
 Endoscopic Procedure
|
 Laparoscopic Surgery |
Laparoscopic Surgery
|
Laparoscopic Surgery
|
|||
 Reversible
|
 Reversible |
 Not Reversible
|
Not Reversible
|
|||
 |
 |
|
|
|||
 Length of Time in
|
 Length of Time |
 Length of Time |
 Length of Time
|
|||
 No Vomiting or
|
 Regurgitation / vomiting is |
 Sugary Foods can
|
 No Vomiting or
|
|||
 Gradually learn
|
 Very small meals, |
Very small meals |
Very small meals
|
| Aspire Assist | Adjustable Gastric Banding |
|
|---|---|---|
Excess Weight Loss
|
Excess Weight Loss |
Gastric Bypass | Sleeve Gastrectomy |
Excess Weight Loss |
Excess Weight Loss
|
|
| Aspire Assist | Adjustable Gastric Banding |
|
Serious Complications
|
Serious Complications |
Gastric Bypass | Sleeve Gastrectomy |
Serious Complications |
Serious Complications
|
|
| Aspire Assist | Adjustable Gastric Banding |
|
Average Procedure Time
|
Average Procedure Time18 |
Gastric Bypass | Sleeve Gastrectomy |
Average Procedure Time18 |
Average Procedure Time18
|
|
| Aspire Assist | Adjustable Gastric Banding |
|
Anatomical Changes
|
Anatomical Changes |
Gastric Bypass | Sleeve Gastrectomy |
Anatomical Changes
|
Anatomical Changes
|
|
| Aspire Assist | Adjustable Gastric Banding |
|
Endoscopic Procedure
|
Laparoscopic Surgery |
Gastric Bypass | Sleeve Gastrectomy |
Laparoscopic Surgery
|
Laparoscopic Surgery
|
|
| Aspire Assist | Adjustable Gastric Banding |
|
Reversible
|
Reversible |
Gastric Bypass | Sleeve Gastrectomy |
Not Reversible
|
Not Reversible
|
|
| Aspire Assist | Adjustable Gastric Banding |
|
|
|
Gastric Bypass | Sleeve Gastrectomy |
|
|
|
| Aspire Assist | Adjustable Gastric Banding |
|
Length of Time in
|
Length of Time |
Gastric Bypass | Sleeve Gastrectomy |
Length of Time |
Length of Time
|
|
| Aspire Assist | Adjustable Gastric Banding |
|
No Vomiting or
|
Regurgitation / vomiting is |
Gastric Bypass | Sleeve Gastrectomy |
Sugary Foods can
|
No Vomiting or
|
|
| Aspire Assist | Adjustable Gastric Banding |
|
Gradually learn
|
Very small meals, |
Gastric Bypass | Sleeve Gastrectomy |
Very small meals |
Very small meals
|
|
Footnotes
*Sleeve Gastrectomy follow-up ranged from 3 to 60 months. **Serious complication rates may be lower in Centers of Excellence. LAP-BAND® is a registered trademark owned by Apollo Endosurgery, Inc. Realize® is a registered trademark of Ethicon Endo-Surgery.
**Per protocol weight loss numbers include all treated subjects who completed the scheduled follow‐up visits up to and including 52 weeks.
1. Goldstein DJ. Beneficial health effects of modest weight loss. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1992;16:379-415.
2. Tuomilehto J, Lindstrom J, Eriksson JG, et al. Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study Group. Prevention of type 2 diabetes mellitus by changes in lifestyle among subjects with impaired glucose tolerance. N Engl J Med 2001;344:1343-1350.
3. Knowler WC, Barrett-Connor E, Fowler SE, et al. Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group.Reduction in the incidence of type 2 diabetes with lifestyle intervention or metformin. N Engl J Med. 2002;346:393-403.
4. Wadden TA, Foster GD, Letizia KA. One-year behavioral treatment of obesity: comparison of moderate and severe caloric restriction and the effects of weight maintenance therapy. J Consult Clin Psychol 1994;62:165-171.
5. Sugerman HJ, Sugerman EL, Wolfe L, Kellum JM, Schweitzer MA, DeMaria EJ. Risks and benefits of gastric bypass in morbidly obese subjects with severe venous stasis disease. Ann Surg 234:41-46, 2001.
6. Sjostrom CD, Peltonen M, Wedel H, Sjostrom L. Differentiated long-term effects of intentional weight loss on diabetes and hypertension. Hypertension 36:20-25, 2000.
7. Foley EF, Benotti PN, Borlase BC, Hollingshead J, Blackburn GL. Impact of gastric restrictive surgery on hypertension in the morbidly obese. Am J Surg 163:294-297, 1992
8. Carson JL, Ruddy ME, Duff AE, Holmes NJ, Cody RP, Brolin RE. The effect of gastric bypass surgery on hypertension in morbidly obese subjects. Arch Intern Med 154:193-200, 1994.
9. Sugerman HJ, Fairman RP, Sood RK, Engle K, Wolfe L, Kellum JM. Long-term effects of gastric surgery for treating respiratory insufficiency of obesity. Am J Clin Nutr 55:597S-601S, 1992.
10. Barvaux VA, Aubert G, Rodenstein DO. Weight loss as a treatment for obstructive sleep apnea. Sleep Med Rev 4:435-452, 2000.
11. Charuzi I, Ovnat A, Peiser J, Saltz H, Weitzman S, Lavie P. The effect of surgical weight reduction on sleep quality in obesity-related sleep apnea syndrome. Surgery97:535-538, 1985.
12. McGoey BV, Deitel M, Saplys RJ, Kliman ME. Effect of weight loss on musculoskeletal pain in the morbidly obese. J Bone Joint Surg 72:322-323, 1990.
13. Karlsson J, Sjostrom L, Sullivan M. Swedish obese subjects (SOS)–an intervention study of obesity. Two-year follow-up of health-related quality of life (HRQL) and eating behavior after gastric surgery for severe obesity. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 22:113-126, 1998.
14. Thompson C., Abu Dayyeh B., Kushner R., Sullivan S., Schorr A, Amaro A, Apovian C, Fullum T, Zarrinpar A, Jensen M, Stein A, Edmundowicz S, Kahaleh M, Ryou M, Bohning J.M., Ginsberg G., Huang C, Tran D., Martin J., Jaffe D., Farraye F., Ho S., Kumar N., Harakal D., Young M., Thomas C., Shukla A., Ryan M., Haas M., Goldsmith H., McCrea J., Aronne L. The AspireAssist Is an Effective Tool in the Treatment of Class II and Class III Obesity: Results of a One-Year Clinical Trial. Gastroenterology. April 2016 Volume 150, Issue 4, Supplement 1, Page S86. Includes all treated subjects who completed the scheduled follow‐up visits up to and including 52 weeks.
15. Nguyen NT, Slone JA, Nguyen XM, Hatmen JS, Hoyt DB. A prospective randomised trial of laparoscopic gastric bypass versus laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding for the treatment of morbid obesity: outcomes, quality of life and costs. Annals of Surgery 2009 Oct;250(4):631e41.
16. Brethauer S, Hammel J, Schauer P. Systematic review of sleeve gastrectomy as staging and primary bariatric procedure. Surg Obes Related Dis 2009;5:469-475.
17. Tice J et al. Gastric Banding or Bypass? A Systematic Review Comparing the Two Most Popular Bariatric Procedures. The American Journal of Medicine (2008) 121, 885-893.
18. Shi et al. A Review of Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy for Morbid Obesity. Obes Surg 2010.
19. Lap-Band:
Website: http://www.lapband.com/en/live_healthy_lapband/months_beyond/lifestyle_guidelines
accessed January 6, 2012.
20. Mayo Clinic Website: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/gastric-bypass-diet/my00827 accessed January 6, 2012.
21. Realize Band Website: http://www.realize.com/bariatric-surgery-risks-complications.htm, accessed January 6, 2012.
22. Data on file at Aspire Bariatrics.
LAP-BAND® is a registered trademark owned by Allergan, Inc. Realize® is a registered trademark of Ethicon Endo-Surgery.