physical difference between anorexia and gastic bypass?

Question

This may be a dumb question, but what are the physical differences (effects on the body) between anorexia (just not eating) and having the gastric bypass surgery that wont allow you to eat more than a tumb sized amount of food. Gastric bypass reduces the size of your stomach so much that you cant eat but miniscule amounts. Anorexia, you choose not to eat but those amounts.
So, my question is, Why would you not get the same results as gastic bypass if you just chose not to eat but those super small amounts and how is gastric bypass any less damaging to the body than anorexia?

By the way, I am in no way pro anorexia, nor am I in favor of gastric bypass, just curious. Oh and I dont want to know about the mental affects, just the physical weight loss ones and tolls on the body.

My co-worker had a gastric bypass and they reduced her stomach 99% to the size of her thumb, she wasnt able to eat more than a shot glass full of food per every 4 to 5 hours.

So why couldnt a person just eat that much without the surgery and save 38,000$?

Answer 1

I read the answers submitted and most of them dont make sense. i know what i am talking about since i had GB almost 2 yrs ago and i am MORE healthy than i was before... and trust me, i eat.

Here is the deal - GB surgery does limit your food, BUT, the Dr. monitors your nutritional intake very carefully. You are required to eat regular meals, just small ones, and MUST get a certain level of suplements (vitamins, minerals) in to your system. Anorexia does not allow for this. GB does not starve your body... it reduces dramaticaly the calories you take in, but the NUTRiTION is still there.

Anorexia has people getting NO nutrition. WIth GB you will usually end up eating about 1000 to 1200 calories a day but in handful size meals many times a day. IF the person you know who has GB is NOT eating that much and taking their vitamins then they are not doing what the DR. tell them to for follow up care. GB is closely montitored for the rest of your life to make sure your are eating what you NEED to be healthy. Ppl in this country eat FAR MORE than they NEED, that is WHY we are all so obesse... it is very healthy to eat several very small meals a day, lower the carbs and fat and take suplements, which is exactly what GB does.

Answer 2

gastRic bypass surgery is done when a person is obese and is unable to lose the weight through other (healthier) means...though I'm sure there are exceptions and some people can get past these considerations, here are some 'requirements':
-You have been obese for at least 5 years.
- You do not have a history of alcohol abuse.
- You do not have untreated depression or another major psychiatric disorder.
- You are between 18 and 65 years of age

Anorexia tends to leave a person totally malnourished, whereas a gastric bypass physically limits your intake of food, in a situation where it is nutritionally safe. Since anorexia has no controls (like surgery does, with a doctor's supervision), its much more dangerous.

Answer 3

I don't think that anyone could be that diligent over time if they were using Anorexia to limit their intake of food as a Gastric bypass does.

I know from personal experience that with anorexia you still want to eat food in the same quantities as in the past. You just won't, or you will try bulimia or something. I took up eating paper to fill my stomach, it has no calories and is filling.

It does take a huge toll on the body--it is even harder to study or read something and get meaning out of it. Systems just don't get what they need to survive well, so they improvise the best they can. That means one system can and does take from another system, but now both systems are lacking because the substance they need is not produced in large enough quanity for both systems.

Answer 4

Really? Well even if your stomach is reduced, you can still eat. True anorexics eat far, FAR less than people with gastric bypass, and they become ill because they become dehydrated, don't get enough nutrients, etc. People with gastric bypass eat, people with anorexia don't. Gastric bypass makes it so you can't eat a lot in one sitting. Most people who have had it eat small meals throughout the day.

Answer 5

Gastric Bypass surgery would be the best option if you want to loose weight. Yes they shrink the stomach but you don't loose the nutrients that your body needs because you are still eating. Annorexia is a disease because it harms the body by not getting enough nutrients that it needs to stay healthy.

Answer 6

What a great observation!

I don't see any big difference, as you point out, except that it costs a lot of money to get the gastric bypass. I haven't seen any huge successes with that and some of the people I know who had them say they would never do it again if they had known....

I believe that there is an opportunity to do a supervised fast that is healthy for the overtaxed body, and that will result in great, permanent weight loss with the inclusion of a healthy, plant-based diet and the energy therapy called Emotional Freedom Technique. You can check it out and download the free "Get Started Package" by going to http://tinyurl.com/yh5zhu

Answer 7

gastric bypass is pretty much like liposuction. with liposuction, you lost fat, but you don't gain good habits that are associated with slow weight loss, so you're still eating like before and you gain weight again. and it is very damaging, as your body can't accomadate to eating small amounts of food immediately. so it's like a super shock on the body. and with anorexia, i suppose it's a slow reduction of food? so it's not as bad, until you get into the dangerous zones

Answer 8

I'm skinny so I don't know a lot about this...but my co-worker was telling me that a person who gets gastic bypass surgery would have extra skin hanging from the body because the weight loss occurs in such a short period of time and it doesn't give enough time for the skin to stretch back...so the person would have to get another surgery to remove the extra skin.

Answer 9

I personally don't know, but I used to be anorexic and it's not that I just didn't eat, I ate as little as possible. Ate things that were high in sugar so I didn't have a blood sugar crash.
While I understand that Gastric bypass surgery is different, I think there are many similarites with it.

Answer 10

Anorexia terms of people, mostly girls and women have eating disorder and starve to death.
Gastric Bypass is a small ring of loop to close and help to reduce your eating for weight loss, mostly is used for people over 100 lbs heavier or obesity with qualified medical approval this surgery.