Oh, Jillian....

In the age of celebrity worship, it's only natural that some folks in our society look to movie stars and musicians when thinking about embarking on a weight-loss journey. I make no secret of the attention I give when famous bariatric-surgery patients such as Carnie Wilson or Star Jones speak out. Spokespeople from Jennifer Hudson and Valerie Bertinelli to Marie Osmond and Charles Barkley have made a second career out of endorsement deals with the programs that helped them to shed pounds. Reality shows create superstars out of personal trainers like Jillian Michaels and Bob Harper, and at least some fleeting fame for the contestants. Nothing wrong with that and nothing wrong with looking to these people for inspiration. I say, find it in whomever - or whatever - works for you.

But celebrities do, in my opinion, have a certain responsibility to know what the hell they're talking about.

Recently, on Jillian Michaels' You Tube series "Daily Dose" a caller asked her what she thought about lap-band surgery. This kind of led to a long oration against all wight-loss surgery (WLS), which she described as "dangerous, very dangerous" and "barbaric". You can imagine how this is setting with the vast majority of bariatric patients. Check it out for yourself:



She does say some things that are kind of true - there are risks associated with WLS - with ANY major surgery - and there are possibilities of complications like dumping. But honestly, she's being very, VERY dramatic. I had a pretty emotional reaction to this video when I first watched it. It made me cry with sadness. What elicits such a strong response from me is thinking about someone who thinks they have finally found a solution to obesity. They've tried everything (yeah, Jillian, they've counted calories) and failed over and over again. They are in the middle (or end) of the pre-screening process and are excited to start their new life, although yeah, they're probably scared, too. So they watch this video and get freaked out. Maybe they cancel the surgery and spend a few days in a bag of Doritos because Jillian says they should be able to lose weight without surgery but they still feel like they can't. Maybe they get a little depressed and self-esteem plummets further. You see where I'm going with this?

Of course, maybe she inspires someone to try to lose weight "on their own" one last time and they succeed. If so, good for them.

Here's the thing. People look up to her and she needs to get her facts straight before she spouts off very generalized statements about a specific surgery. Ranting about worst-case scenarios is not cool. You risk a whole lot more being morbidly obese than you do having this surgery. According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive & Kidney Disease (NIDDK), less than 1% of all cases of bariatric surgery result in death. Complications are rare and as I've said before - most of the more "common" complications like malnutrition and dumping can be avoided simply by being a good patient and doing what you're told.

My husband watched this video with me and made a good point, which I was already considering before he said it: Jillian's worried about her bottom line. Speaking out against WLS and using fear to keep people away from it could potentially benefit her pocketbook. She could be under the mistaken notion that WLS patients don't buy her books or exercise videos. She would be wrong about that, of course. Again....WLS isn't a magic wand and you have to exercise and eat right to both lose the weight and keep it off. However, you can bet your ass that after watching this video, I won't buy another single thing she has for sale. Ever.

The National Institute of Health now considers WLS the only permanent treatment for morbid obesity. I've written in the past about the many years, tears and dollars I've spent trying to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. It's not that I failed, I just didn't find what worked for me. Every "diet plan" will work if you work it - you just have to find one you can live with. WLS has worked (so far) for me.

While researching some stats for this blog, I found a very cool graphic from the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery
website. This is what WLS can do for you (click to enlarge):


As someone who supposedly makes a living attempting to help people discover a healthier lifestyle, shame on Jillian Michaels for trying to steer people away from a very safe procedure that saves lives every single day.