Morbid obesity and skin

Don Woodson · 03-17-2006, 01:12 PM

There's this guy at work who has always been morbidly obese. I mean like 625lbs obese.
I noticed he recently lost a lot of weight. I asked him how much he's lost and he said 235lbs.
My question is, will his skin ever shrink to fit his new body, or is he doomed to having large sheets of hanging skin the rest of his life?
He says he wants to lose a hundred more pounds, THEN start working out "to tone it all up".
I'm certainly not going to discourage him, but I'm thinking he's going to need more than exercise.
Is there surgery for this?

Catherine Imes · 03-17-2006, 01:23 PM

Yes, there is plastic surgery.

There are people at my work that have had gastric bypass and lost between 100-300lbs. Most of them have had to have some sort of reconstructive surgery to get rid of the excess skin. I think it depends on how overweight they are, how long they've been overweight, and how old they are.

It sounds to me as if he would need some sort of plastic surgery since he was intially 400+ lbs overweight.

CI

Don Woodson · 03-17-2006, 01:34 PM

Thanks Catherine. I'm guessing he's in his mid fifties, and I imagine he's been this way for most of his life.
I asked him what kind of diet he's on, but he was kind of vague, saying he doesn't diet (whatever that means). Probably a gastric bypass.
Anyway, I told him I look forward to seeing him in the gym when he feels he's ready.

Larry Lindenman · 03-17-2006, 03:48 PM

Thank God, I'll never have to worry about this!

Richard Paul Ham-Williams · 03-20-2006, 06:16 AM

now this interests me, if a morbidly obese individual looses weight slowly with good diet and exercise - is there any reason their skin shouldnt return to normal with their size? If it doesnt, why doesnt it?

IMO obese individuals that loose weight due to bypasses and purely dietry efforts stand less chance of it returning to normal than they would if they worked out intelligently.

Matt Gagliardi · 03-20-2006, 06:26 AM

Richard...skin doesn't retain it's elasticity forever. The older you get, the less it will "snap back". The collagen and elastin in the dermis begin to lose their elastic properties. If you get people who're obese into middle/old age it exacerbates that effect. When those folks lose a lot of weight at that older age, they're kinda screwed.

You can see this by pinching a fold of skin on the hand of an old person and letting it go...it returns to shape very slowly. Now do the same thing on a young person...you'll see it pops back very quickly.

Catherine Imes · 03-20-2006, 06:35 AM

I agree with you. But, people who are several hundred pounds overweight typically are not going to lose it with diet and exercise...Because at one point, those people were probably just 50lbs overweight, lost it, gained it back and then some, and did that again and again....

Everyone I know that has lost more than 100lbs, did it via an operation. I'm not saying you can't do it with diet and exercise, I'm just saying most haven't done it. If you are 200lbs+ overweight, walking a few feet can be taxing.. Typically, when people decide to undergo this procedure it is because they are ticking time bombs and in many cases it's a matter of life and death.

I would think if you are a certain age (I'm not sure what that age is), and you lose 200+lbs, it may be a good bet that you are going to still have a little excess skin. Probably not near as much as someone who had the operation and lost all the weight in a short amount of time. Who knows...

CI

Veronica Carpenter · 03-20-2006, 10:04 AM

My Ex husband has recently, over the past year (actually a little less) lost 100lbs through diet and exercise with the help of a personal trainer. He still has excess skin and probably always will since he has been overweight for as long as I've known him.

As Matt already stated it has to do with the elasticity of your skin or lack thereof - whether the weightloss is gradual or fast. I'd just like to add that it isn't always a matter of age, as is the case with stretchmarks as well. Oops, that was the other thread...:crazy:

(Message edited by vgcarp on March 20, 2006)

Richard Paul Ham-Williams · 03-21-2006, 03:56 AM

Thanks for all the responses ladies and gents, appreciated indeed!

Don Woodson · 03-21-2006, 09:10 AM

Yeah, great responses!
I was just wondering; is there a way (supplement), that will reduce loss of collagen and elastin?
Not that I'm vain but...OK so I'm vain.

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03-17-2006, 01:12 PM	#1
Don Woodson Member Profile: Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Grafton Illinois Posts: 318	There's this guy at work who has always been morbidly obese. I mean like 625lbs obese. I noticed he recently lost a lot of weight. I asked him how much he's lost and he said 235lbs. My question is, will his skin ever shrink to fit his new body, or is he doomed to having large sheets of hanging skin the rest of his life? He says he wants to lose a hundred more pounds, THEN start working out "to tone it all up". I'm certainly not going to discourage him, but I'm thinking he's going to need more than exercise. Is there surgery for this?

03-17-2006, 01:23 PM	#2
Catherine Imes Member Profile: Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: St. Louis MO Posts: 309	Yes, there is plastic surgery. There are people at my work that have had gastric bypass and lost between 100-300lbs. Most of them have had to have some sort of reconstructive surgery to get rid of the excess skin. I think it depends on how overweight they are, how long they've been overweight, and how old they are. It sounds to me as if he would need some sort of plastic surgery since he was intially 400+ lbs overweight. CI

03-17-2006, 01:34 PM	#3
Don Woodson Member Profile: Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Grafton Illinois Posts: 318	Thanks Catherine. I'm guessing he's in his mid fifties, and I imagine he's been this way for most of his life. I asked him what kind of diet he's on, but he was kind of vague, saying he doesn't diet (whatever that means). Probably a gastric bypass. Anyway, I told him I look forward to seeing him in the gym when he feels he's ready.

03-17-2006, 03:48 PM	#4
Larry Lindenman Affiliate Profile: Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Chicago Illinois Posts: 2,769	Thank God, I'll never have to worry about this!

03-20-2006, 06:16 AM	#5
Richard Paul Ham-Williams Member Profile: Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Epsom Surrey Posts: 344	now this interests me, if a morbidly obese individual looses weight slowly with good diet and exercise - is there any reason their skin shouldnt return to normal with their size? If it doesnt, why doesnt it? IMO obese individuals that loose weight due to bypasses and purely dietry efforts stand less chance of it returning to normal than they would if they worked out intelligently.

03-20-2006, 06:26 AM	#6
Matt Gagliardi Member Profile: Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Memphis TN Posts: 946	Richard...skin doesn't retain it's elasticity forever. The older you get, the less it will "snap back". The collagen and elastin in the dermis begin to lose their elastic properties. If you get people who're obese into middle/old age it exacerbates that effect. When those folks lose a lot of weight at that older age, they're kinda screwed. You can see this by pinching a fold of skin on the hand of an old person and letting it go...it returns to shape very slowly. Now do the same thing on a young person...you'll see it pops back very quickly.

03-20-2006, 06:35 AM	#7
Catherine Imes Member Profile: Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: St. Louis MO Posts: 309	I agree with you. But, people who are several hundred pounds overweight typically are not going to lose it with diet and exercise...Because at one point, those people were probably just 50lbs overweight, lost it, gained it back and then some, and did that again and again.... Everyone I know that has lost more than 100lbs, did it via an operation. I'm not saying you can't do it with diet and exercise, I'm just saying most haven't done it. If you are 200lbs+ overweight, walking a few feet can be taxing.. Typically, when people decide to undergo this procedure it is because they are ticking time bombs and in many cases it's a matter of life and death. I would think if you are a certain age (I'm not sure what that age is), and you lose 200+lbs, it may be a good bet that you are going to still have a little excess skin. Probably not near as much as someone who had the operation and lost all the weight in a short amount of time. Who knows... CI

03-20-2006, 10:04 AM	#8
Veronica Carpenter Affiliate Profile: Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Oroville CA Posts: 2,709	My Ex husband has recently, over the past year (actually a little less) lost 100lbs through diet and exercise with the help of a personal trainer. He still has excess skin and probably always will since he has been overweight for as long as I've known him. As Matt already stated it has to do with the elasticity of your skin or lack thereof - whether the weightloss is gradual or fast. I'd just like to add that it isn't always a matter of age, as is the case with stretchmarks as well. Oops, that was the other thread...:crazy: (Message edited by vgcarp on March 20, 2006)

03-21-2006, 03:56 AM	#9
Richard Paul Ham-Williams Member Profile: Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Epsom Surrey Posts: 344	Thanks for all the responses ladies and gents, appreciated indeed!

03-21-2006, 09:10 AM	#10
Don Woodson Member Profile: Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Grafton Illinois Posts: 318	Yeah, great responses! I was just wondering; is there a way (supplement), that will reduce loss of collagen and elastin? Not that I'm vain but...OK so I'm vain.