- Currently alone, it is estimated that there are 340 million children between the ages of five and 19 who are overweight or obese.
- Minors with this condition not only put their integrity at risk but are also victims of ridicule and attacks by their peers.
- A young woman who went through this problem of being overweight managed to overcome her fears and today she is an exemplary bariatric surgeon.
One of the most serious public health problems today is childhood obesity. UNICEF estimates that around 40 million children under the age of five are overweight., which limits the quality of life of infants. But although it is often difficult to lose weight, in the end it is never impossible. There are also success stories that should be known, such as that of a bariatric surgeon who today is an example of life.
In this case it is the Dr. Amny Acosta Then, who broke schemes in the medical world by being one of the pioneers in the Dominican Republic in practicing a method to lose weight without surgery. She is the bariatric endoscopy and with this she has become an ambassador of happiness. So far she has managed to get more than 2,700 people back to their ideal weight.
From suffering from obesity to being one of the best specialists in the world
But getting to this was not easy. The specialist mentions that when she was a child she was nicknamed “Whale” at her school. This is how she was a victim of bullying, and this precisely motivated her to accept the challenge her mother proposed to her to change the stereotype. They both decided to start taking care of their diet and her body.
The results were so remarkable that the Dr. Acosta Then she decided to study Medicine with the intention of helping others experience the happiness she felt when she began to take care of herself. today directs hello“the happiest endoscopy center in the world”.
“With 20 pounds of weight you lose, you gain seven more years of life,” says Dr. Acosta Then, who will begin her awareness campaigns in the United States in 2023 on the importance of learning to avoid excesses, as the best recipe for the happiness”.
Fight obesity in children and adolescents
For this reason, within the entire support system that Dr. Acosta Then gives to people, adolescents play an important part in the process of teaching them to take care of their health in order to be happy.
“Happiness is a state of the soul that is also based on the way we eat. As we well know, we are what we eat. So also our children, are our reflection ”.
At the same time, she describes herself as passionate about bringing happiness to people through genuine actions that break fear, past life patterns, and beliefs that bind low self-esteem. These statements are the fundamental basis of the method used by the bariatric surgeon with her patients.
“When I lost weight as a teenager I began to stand out, to shine. My self-esteem went up and I felt happy. That’s why I love working with teenagers; see how they shine after the treatment.”
Acosta Then is the first Dominican to belong to the Bariatric Endoscopy Society of America. He has training as a bariatric endoscopist in Madrid and Brazil. She was selected Woman of the Year 2019 in the health sector for her performance in the weight loss and bariatric endoscopy programs. She is a bariatric endoscopist, director of the Salutte Clinic obesity and specialties clinic in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic.
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