I am not necessarily an Oprah fan. I watched the show today and she interviewed 3 teenagers who had lapband. They were all well-spoken and knowledgeable. I was pround of them.

Oprah, to my surprise, was not judgemental. She seemed down the road and just asked the questions. What I did notice was that the audience didn't applaud the WLS teenagers when they told how much weight they had lost, however, they applauded when the teenager who lost weight naturally told how much she had lost.

I didn't like that Oprah seemed to purposefully use the word "fat". I know they were "fat". But I think (not sure), in the past Oprah has used the word "obese".

Dr. Oz seemed to be coming on strong.

Having struggled with weight issues since I started to gain weight at age 8 I wish I had the option of gastric banding in my teens. My families solution was to send me to weight watchers at age 11 (I had 20 lbs to loose). this began a lifelong cycle of yo-yo dieting. having gone through 2 years of therapy (my family didn't believe in this) and now getting a band I am truly comfortable in my skin for the first time.

Growing up as an overweight teen and then being fat in my 20's, 30's etc. was a challenge. I know now I have not achieved what I could have since I never felt worthwhile because I was fat. It made me think something was wrong with me and I deserved less than others. Even my children have suffered since mom was always too fat for this and that.

I feel like the band is the tool I needed to begin living my life to the fullest. Now weight is not in my way and I am learning every day to love myself a little more.

maybe 12 is a little young but 15 or 16 surely isn't. I don't feel the same about bypass, but the band is not that risky.

I'm so tired of shows saying that there must be something wrong with a person emotionally to be fat... I just don't believe it. Like on the Biggest Loser when Jillian was saying there is always an emotional reason as to why somebody is fat... it's BS. Had Oprah or Jillian or whoever asked me I would have simply said, "food is fun and yummy".. end of subject. I was a thin kid and very physically active up until I met a guy, and we went out to eat twice a day and I gained like 80 pounds in a year.. then I got a foot disorder and gained even more... I'm super happy in my life and always have been... I've never been raped, or abused or whatever they think fat people deal with. I just like food... and why does it seem like they treat fat women differently than fat men.. like, it's okay for there to be obese men... they dont' have emotional issues.. just obese women.. Give me a break!

Cool Crystal---Good point: Men are "meat and potatoes" guys or just love food---with women, it's always straight to the psyche.

Cool Crystal---Good point: Men are "meat and potatoes" guys or just love food---with women, it's always straight to the psyche.

Yeah, it's so true though!! You look everywhere.. on TV, on shows like American Idol.. they'll put the sweet obese dude through, but the obese woman?? no... not unless she's african american obese woman because in our society that's more sociably acceptable. And no, I'm not being racist or anything, it's just how it is. An obese white female is less acceptable. Period. On shows.. in Hollywood... because there must be some big time emotional issue for a fat white woman... right? I can't just like food because it's good... I can't just like chips and salsa... and bread and butter... and chicken fried steak.. and chitlins too,.. right? Anyway, I'm just venting here...

I don't have an opinion one way or ther other as far as teens having this surgery because it is such a complex issue.

All I know is something is terribly terribly wrong with teenage weight issues and I don't blame the person. I think there is a lot more to this weight problem including the additives in the food, not enought exercise and our body's metabolisms.

Research needs to be done of this and quick!

Wow. I wish I had seen this. I have such mixed feelings on the issue. I have a daugther who is almost 15. She is 5'8" and about 230 lbs. My heart aches for her all the time. I try and try and try to help her with healthy eating. Unfortunately, she is only with me half of the time and seems to totally overeat when I am not around or not watching. She will do good for a week or so and then not see any results that are easily recognizable and say the heck with it, it's too hard. I would do anything for her, including surgery to help her lose the weight. However, I think that at only 15 she is not ready. She proves that over and over by giving up after about a week of healthy eating. She makes every excuse in the book why she ate this or that. She totally has it in her mind that she can not lose weight. Her father and I (we are no longer together) have discouraged her even more with the fact that I had lap band surgery and he had gastric bypass about 3 years ago. She now thinks that surgery is the only way out. Being an overweight teenager is SO hard. I know this from experience. I wish I had never fed her anything but fruits and vegetables! haha

When my son was in 6th grade I decided I was going to do everything I could to make sure he didn't start Jr. high as 'the fat kid.' He did Atkins and lost 40 or 50 lbs. He was still overweight but was at least able to get into his first pair of jeans, ever. BUT - to do that it took an absolute Iron grip on my part as to what went into his mouth. He regained that weight back over the next year or so even though I still tried to follow the Atkins rules.

Once he got his drivers license though was when he really went to town on the food. He'd chow down on the way home from class or on the weekends. Sometimes he'd even leave the house at night to go get food because I generally try to not keep 'forbidden' things around. At this point he is hoping the lapband will help make it so he's not 'always hungry.'

I agree the weight issue for kids is multi-faceted. When we were kids, we would go outside at daybreak and play all day until dinner time. When my kids were little, John Walsh's kid was snatched right out from under him and kids in my county were being snatched out of their yards. My kids had to come home and lock the door and stay in until I got home at 6pm. Not much chance to excerise. Then there's video games, super sized portions, commercials, computers. Simply put, as my doctor once told me, we have a lifestyle problem.

Well, lapband helps up alter our lifestyle, so we now a problem and a solution.

mamato3, if you and your husband have struggled with your weight and you daughter is already struggling, perhaps she's right, maybe surgery is a viable option for her. As for her maturity showing in her dieting efforts, well, I guess I'm imature too. Its easy to get discouraged when you try and try and nothing works for you. Sure I could lose at my best, 25 pounds before I was fed up with my diet that I was ready to chew the legs off the table. Toward the end, I was just like your daughter, I'd try for a while, then give up. It seemed like I wasn't even eating as much as my skinny daughter or my normal sized husband, yet I was the fat one. I was fed up and to this day can't even entertain the idea of a "diet".

For these reasons, I felt the lapband was a good solution for me. I can eat, but I don't have to jump through all the diet hoops.

Research needs to be done of this and quick!

Unfortunately, there is too much money to be made in keeping us fat and consuming highly processed, commercial junk food.

I think our 'fat' issues are all in our brain. I haven't dove into the thread titled 'Why are you fat?' because it is just too depressing for me. All I know, is that I am not dumb, I do not lack discipline or energy or stamina. I am an intelligent woman, educated and thoughtful. But I could just not lose this weight without medical intervention.

I don't know if we will ever 'cure' obesity I WISH diet and exercise and discipline alone could have helped me 30 years ago. If that was all it took, I'd like to think that I'd have done it and saved myself 30 years of pain.

I thought that Oprah tried to keep neutral. I think Dr Oz was pretty neutral about it. He does have a chapter in his book You, On A Diet about the band and Gastric Bypass. But I believe they do have a duty to try to get people to help themselves by changing lifestyles. But when all else fails....there is help.

I was proud of those young people who tried to explain their choices. And I am so happy they found an answer so young in life.

I can't blame my parents for what I was. I was 100 pounds in 3rd grade, wearing a size 18 in HS. I have siblings who do not have weight issues. I wasn't getting special meals or more food from my parents. I was sneaking it. Can I blame my parents for not watching me? No, did they put healthy food on the table and in the house Yes. Did I get fat from eating junk? No. I got fat from eating too much. That was me putting it in, not my parents force feeding me.

YEP IM 17 and hoping to soon be on my way to starting the process :tongue: anyone who is could help me I have many questions that are jumbled in my mind!

I had TIVO'd Oprah and just got to watch it today.

I agree with the other posters who pointed out that the response for the girl who lost the weight on her own was overall more positive.

I must say from the time that I was 12 to 17 I was on a constant diet and dropped 135 lbs. Clearly I couldn't keep it off and gained even more, which led me to choose banding.

I do wish that girl well, but over 95% of people who lose large amounts of weight regain it, just like Oprah herself.

I'm done yo- yoing and if it took a surgery to accomplish this so be it.:confused: