随着新年的开始，许多人又开始下决心做些事情，而减肥可能是许多人所想的。事实上，在2014年12月的一项YouGov民意调查显示，减肥是目前最常见的人们决心要做的事情，占所有被调查者的35%；2015也没有什么不同，Marist民意调查显示减肥仍然位居前列。

　　One of the ways that people may consider losing weight is by undertaking surgery, but there are numerous risks involved. When dealing with something as complicated and sensitive as weight loss, sometimes people may feel like they have no hope other than surgery, even going so far as to convince themselves that it is the best option, even when it’s not. Let’s take a look at 5 of the most common lies people tell themselves when moving towards a decision to have weight loss surgery to meet their goals.

　　人们可能会考虑减肥的方式之一是进行手术，但这会有许多风险。在处理一些像是减肥这样复杂且敏感的事情时，有时人们可能会觉得自己除了手术之外，没有其它的希望，甚至会说服自己这是最好的选择，即使它不是。让我们来看看为了满足目的，人们常说的5个决定做减肥手术的谎言。

　　“I’ve tried everything”

　　“我已经试了所有方法”

　　Losing weight is not just a physical challenge, but a mental one as well; being in the wrong mindset and taking shortcuts will not help you in the long term. Remember that weight loss is not easy: it takes time, effort, and sometimes major lifestyle changes. Consider whether you have really put in the hard work before you move straight to weight-loss surgery.

　　减肥不只是身体上的挑战，而且是精神上的挑战；错误的思维模式和走捷径长期来看不会帮助到你。记住减肥不容易：这需要花费时间、精力，有时主要的生活方式也要改变。在你直接去做减肥手术时，考虑一下你是否真的付出努力了。

　　“I have bad genes”

　　“我的基因不好”

　　Recent research has shown that genetic predisposition to obesity does exist, but that exercise can nearly completely counteract any genetic effects. This means that even if you do have a genetic predisposition to obesity, with exercise and a healthy diet you should still be able to lose the weight. The study’s lead author noted that “we’re not complete slaves to our genetic makeup and really can make a big difference to our future health by changing our behaviour,” so don’t rely on your genes as an excuse.

　　最近的研究表明，肥胖的遗传倾向确实存在，但运动几乎可以完全抵消任何遗传效应。这意味着即使你有肥胖的遗传倾向，通过运动和健康的饮食，你应该仍然能够减肥。这项研究的主要作者指出：“我们不会完全臣服于我们的基因构成，而通过改变我们的行为真的可以大大有益于我们未来的健康，”所以不要再把你的基因作为借口。

　　“It’s a low-risk surgery”

　　“这是个低风险手术”

　　Even though studies have backed up the relative low risk nature of bariatric surgery, consider whether putting yourself at risk is the right thing to do in your circumstances. One factor to think about is that even though the surgery itself may be low risk, any time that you have surgery performed, you risk becoming a victim of medical negligence or accident. A firm of medical solicitors carried out research on more than 1000 negligence cases, which revealed that surgical negligence was the most common type of medical negligence they dealt with, at 30% of all cases.

　　尽管有研究支持了减肥手术的风险相对较低，但你仍要考虑是否要让自己处于危险之中。一个考虑的因素是，即使手术本身可能是低风险的，但任何时间你进行手术都有可能成为医疗事故的受害者。一家医疗律师所研究1了000多件过失案例，表明手术过失是医疗事故处理中最常见的类型，占所有案件的30%。

　　The most common consequences of surgical negligence in a failed bariatric surgery were:

　　在一次失败的减肥手术中最常见的手术过失后果：

　　constant pain (61% of those affected);

　　internal injuries and intermittent internal pain; andpatients who experienced procedures without informed consent.

　　“I fully understand the risks and did the research”

　　The main issue here is that most of the risks involved in weight loss surgery are unpredictable accidents – so no matter how much research you’ve done, you can still be vulnerable.

　　持续的疼痛（61%的受影响）；

　　内部损伤和间歇性的内部疼痛；

　　未经知情同意的病人。

　　“我完全理解风险，并做了研究”

　　这里的主要问题是，大多数的减肥手术所涉及的风险是不可预知的意外事件，所以不管你做了多少研究，你仍然可以很容易遇到。

　　It’s also important to ensure that you’ve considered long-term risks, and numerous flow-on effects are still being found to affect patients even years after surgery. For example, a recent study from Taiwan found that bariatric surgery could cause nutrient loss from bones, and lead to an increased risk of bone fractures down the line. Another recent study found that weight-loss surgery could cause “stress and anxiety, and changes in hormones,” both of which led to an increased risk of self-harm for bariatric surgery patients. These types of risks are hard to predict and may not be listed as “risks” in many pamphlets or websites about the surgery.

　　同样重要的是要确保你已经考虑到了长期风险，许多不确定风险甚至会与手术数年后影响患者。例如，台湾最近的一个研究发现，减肥手术可能导致骨骼营养流失，导致骨折的风险增加。最近的一项研究发现，减肥手术可能导致压力和焦虑，以及体内激素的变化，“这导致减肥手术病人自我伤害的风险增加。这些类型的风险是难以预测的，在许多小册子或网站关于手术可能不会列出。

　　“I need it”

　　“我需要它”

　　Most doctors recommend surgery only to patients who:

　　大多医生只向这些病人推荐手术：

　　Have a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or more. This would be about 100 pounds overweight for men or 80 pounds for women;Have a lower BMI (but are still obese) and have a serious health problem related to obesity, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, severe sleep apnea, or high cholesterol;Have tried unsuccessfully to lose weight by other means; andFully understand the risks.

　　有40或更多的身体质量指数（体重指数）。这是男性超重约100磅或女性超重约80磅；有较低的体重指数（但仍为肥胖），与肥胖相关的严重健康问题，如心脏病、2型糖尿病、严重的睡眠呼吸暂停或高胆固醇；也曾试图通过其他方式减肥；充分理解风险。

　　If you still want to move forward with the procedure, make sure you visit another doctor and look for a second opinion before and after the surgery.

　　如果你仍想进行手术，那先确保你看了另一个医生，在手术前后寻找另一种选择。

　　Whatever you decide to do, ensure that you have all the information before you proceed, and consider whether you really have exhausted all of your other options. It can be too easy to view weight loss surgery as more minor than it truly is, especially with rates of bariatric surgery increasing rapidly. Just because it may look like “everyone else is doing it,” it doesn’t mean it’s right for you.

　　无论你决定做什么，都要在做之前确保你了解了所有的信息，再考虑你是否真的已经用尽了所有其它选择。人们很容易认为减肥手术比它真正的风险要小，尤其是减肥手术率迅速增加。只是因为它可能看起来像“其他人都在做，”这并不意味着它就适合你。