Issue Question: Teenagers and Extreme Weight Loss Methods?

 With childhood obesity rates continuing to skyrocket in the United States teenagers, doctors, and parents are now turning to alternative methods of weight loss such as gastric banding. A gastric band is a small band that is put at the top of the stomach during a surgical procedure to reduce the amount of food a person can consume. Some people feel that using this procedure on adolescents is fine. In addition to having positive physical effects, some people feel that adolescents who struggle with their weight will also have positive changes in their body image and social lives. Others feel that this surgical procedure is not appropriate for adolescents or teenagers. They believe that this procedure is for adults only because teenagers’ bodies are still growing and developing. Using a gastric band as a form of weight loss can have damaging physical and emotional effects on these young adults. We want to know what you think, “Should teenagers be allowed to use extreme methods, like gastric banding, as a form of weight loss?”