Patient Event: Swallowable balloon with Columbia Asia Bukit Rimau
Obesity is a pandemic too!
Health is wealth. That is undeniably true. A lot of us say this but do we really mean it? As we grow older, our health becomes our main priority, as it should.
Obesity has become more common in people who have aged. According to the National Health and Morbidity Survey (2019), 1 in 2 Malaysian adults suffer from obesity and most of them are associated with having diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.
Paying attention to your food and learning where your calories come from is a skill that will always serve you, especially if you’re looking to lose weight and it is not easy.
Shredding that extra weight requires extra effort
It is not easy to lose weight. Losing weight requires consistent discipline and gradual lifestyle changes especially when one is considering a weight-loss programme.
Starvation or extreme diets may result in rapid weight loss but such quick weight loss can be unsafe and is almost impossible to maintain for most people.
In the past, a lot of weight-loss programmes needed to go through a surgical procedure. Nowadays, there are a lot of alternatives that do not require one to sit through a doctor's appointment.
Conventional medical weight loss programmes usually involve surgery – either a sleeve gastrectomy or gastric bypass. However, those considering these may not be suitable candidates for anesthesia which in itself involves risk. More importantly, one may not want to have surgery due to fear, anxiety or simply not wanting to have a longer recovery period. Also, the surgical options do not necessarily mean success, especially if one does not change his/her lifestyle and eating habits.
Kitakurang: An alternative medical weight loss method
The less invasive and more sustainable weight loss method would be intragastric balloons. However, conventional balloons still require endoscopy with anesthesia. Along comes a swallowable balloon, a procedure only takes 20 minutes with no surgery, no anesthesia and no endoscopy. A patient simply swallows the balloon capsule in an X-Ray room and the doctor fills the balloon to occupy about two-thirds of the patient’s stomach – thereby creating a feeling of fullness and aiding the stomach to digest food slowly. It is a day procedure generally without the need for hospital admission.
Together with the balloon placement procedure is a support programme managed by a team of professionals – Team Kitakurang. The team commits to advise, guide and support each patient throughout their balloon journey.
Obesity is a definite problem and Team Kitakurang is committed to help those overweight and obese to be healthier and fitter versions of themselves. Kitakurang is built on the idea that consistent lifestyle changes help in weight loss management.
The World Health Organization (WHO) classified obesity as a chronic relapsing disease, meaning that it may come back later after losing weight. To make meaningful, long-lasting, permanent changes in weight loss, a more holistic approach is needed. This is where Team Kitakurang steps in, with their 12-month support system to guide every patient throughout the process, side by side.
Permanent results require permanent changes. Changing how you live a life, means changing the choices you make.
Good news! Kitakurang and Columbia Asia Bukit Rimau will come together to showcase the Allurion Swallowable Balloon exclusively at the hospital lobby this Saturday, 13 November 2021. Everyone is welcome to touch, feel and learn more about the swallowable balloon in person.