• Question: why do you get saggy skin some operations like by gastric bands

    Asked by A'Mari to Greg, Jen, Laura, Mobeen, Paul on 9 Mar 2016.
    • Photo: Paul O'Mahoney

      Paul O'Mahoney answered on 9 Mar 2016:

      I think this can be because of the rate at which you lose the weight. If you lose weight really quickly your skin might not have time to adjust, and can become saggy. It also depends on things like the elasticity of your skin so it will vary from person to person.

    • Photo: Laura Haworth

      Laura Haworth answered on 9 Mar 2016:

      Gastric bands can allow people to lose the fat in the body, it can’t cause skin to revert to its pre-obesity tightness and firmness because over the years as the person has got bigger their skin has stretched. A bit like an elastic band- when you initially stretch it returns back to its normal size but if you keep on stretching it eventually it will lose its elasticity and won’t be able to return to its’ original size. Some surgeons may remove this excess skin for people following a gastric band.

    • Photo: Jen Lowe

      Jen Lowe answered on 9 Mar 2016:

      I suspect that if someone has been overweight for a long time, the skin is less able to go back to the original size. Skin is very elastic (stretchy) – it can stretch over our knees and elbows when we bend them -it can also stretch to accommodate a baby (or twins!) and then return to previous shape. Skin loses elasticity as we get older though – older people have more ‘baggy’ skin e.g. under the chin and arms. Gastric band surgery is a serious procedure and so would probably only be done on someone who was obese (with lots of extra stretched skin) and had health problems because of their weight.
      http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/weight-loss-surgery/Pages/Introduction.aspx

    • Photo: Greg Melia

      Greg Melia answered on 9 Mar 2016:

      I think the others have answered this pretty well, but just to add that any surgery like a gastric band is a serious procedure, so you don’t want to have to do it unless it’s really necessary. It’s far better to stay healthy in the first place: ignore fad diets, just eat a mixed, balanced diet of healthy food including plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, and make sure you get lots of exercise.

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