Is it okay for teenagers to have weight loss surgery?

Being overweight and trying to lose weight is not simple, it takes time and motivation. So why not skip all these diets and get the procedure when you are a teenager? Some people believe teenagers should wait until they are mature enough to make this decision for themselves. However, say this was your child – what would you do?

Recently The Oprah Winfrey Show re-aired a piece featuring two teenagers who had the gastric banding procedure. One of them is a 13-year-old girl named Cassie who was one of the youngest patients to undergo the gastric banding procedure in the United States. At 220 pounds, even with attempts at dieting and consulting with a nutritionist, Cassie kept gaining weight. Her mother Jennifer said, “Every month she gained between 5 to 8 pounds. … We don’t know where the weight was coming from,” she says. “My biggest fear was mentally, Cassie would crash. She’d become depressed, she’d eat because of the depression, she’d stop sports, she’d stop being who she was.” After Jennifer learned that Cassie was being teased at school she decided to learn more about the procedure. Since being banded, Cassie has lost almost 80 pounds and has learned new eating habits, eating what she wants but in smaller portions.