The article “Surgery on Diabetics May Be Better Than Standard Treatment, written by Denise Grady for the New York Times, discusses Diabetes and it’s treatments. More specifically, the article talks about how surgery has been more effective at forcing diabetes into remission, as opposed to standard medicine and change in diet. The study found that expensive weight loss procedures such as gastric bypass were incredibly effective for people with Type 2 Diabetes. The study found that people also lowered their blood pressure and cholesterol. A study done at the Catholic University in Rome showed that in two test groups that had bariatric surgery done (weight loss surgery), 75 % and 95% respective to each procedure had complete remission; those who didn’t have bariatric procedures all experienced no remission. In a similar study at the Cleveland Clinic, patients experienced remission rates of 42% and 37% - another astounding result and testament to why weight loss surgery is simply better in combatting Type 2 Diabetes, than alternatives such as exercise, change in diet, and medicine.
This article is incredibly important for society. In the United States, the number of diabetes cases have tripled in the past 30 years ad stand at more than 20 million current cases. Type 2 Diabetes has reached epidemic-like levels, and with repercussions such as loss of feeling in limbs, and shots of insulin daily, suffice it to say Type 2 Diabetes is not fun or safe. This realization that weight loss surgery or weight loss alone are the only things separating people from good health is huge. It could impact the lives of many, by lowering medical expenses, and getting rid of the risks associated with Type 2 Diabetes.
I felt that the author did a pretty decent job of writing the article. It was well written, and instilled hope in me, something that is hard to do when writing about medical treatments. Secondly, the author’s information was absolutely incredible. Whenever there was a word or term I didn’t understand, such as bariatric, a good definition was very close by. Finally, one thing that the author could have done better was supplying the reader with facts. While the article was informative and inspiring, it lacked the numbers that really scare people to the core, and therefore had less of an effect on me than it otherwise would have. Regardless, I really enjoyed reading this article, and found it to be well written - making for a pleasant reading experience.
Grady, Denise. "Surgery on Diabetics May Be Better than Standard Treatment." New York Times 6 Mar. 2012. Www.newyorktimes.com. ING Direct, 6 Mar. 2012. Web. 25 Mar. 2012.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/27/science/to-combat-diabetes-weight-loss-surgery-works-better-than-medicine-studies-find.html?ref=science>.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I commented on Spencer Borwick’s review of the article dealing with surgery on diabetics. There were many aspects of his review that I found to be particularly well presented. For starters, I was impressed by Spencer’s consist usage of research and information to back up the claims made in the article. He did not simply say, surgery on diabetics may be better than standard treatment; he actually explained why this was believed to be true and what information was supporting this claim. Secondly, I agreed with and found his relevance of the article to society to be very true and eye opening. Once again, he used a large amount of data and statistics to back up the facts, and then went to explain what the statistics meant. For example, I could clearly see how this article related to society when he said, “In the United States, the number of diabetes cases have tripled in the past 30 years and stand at more than 20 million current cases.” Lastly, I found his opinion on the article to be very honest and also gave me a good idea of what the article was like without having read it yet.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I don’t believe I can make many, there may be a suggestion or two on how to make this review even better. One that I can make is that he includes the definitions of some completed words like bariatric. He referred to it in his last paragraph, but in his summary he did not explain what it was. I would also be interested in how much any of these expensive surgeries cost, because it may not be realistic for everyone if they are outside of many people’s price range.
In this article, I learned that surgery to help treat diabetes may be significantly more successful than other forms of treatment such as standard medicine or change in diet.