Why do newspapers always think of the negatives

[Retfordmag]

Daily Mail today reporting of the death of a woman after gastric band op.

Why do they always only feel the need to report when this happens? As it says there is a 1 in 2000 chance of death on op , but this is the same with any op not just bariatric.

I feel sorry for the family left behind, but some of the comments from readers are just typical (just cut down etc - if only it were that easy eh?)

Clare White: 19-stone mother-of-three dies after gastric band surgery | Mail Online

 

[fizzwoods]

Just read the article, people make my blood boil at times!!!! They want to look at the facts first and ask why we are all going for WLS.... All of us are different and like the majority of us on here, I had major food issues and an 'addiction'. The sooner people take us seriously and realise that this is just like being a smoker, alcholic or a drug addict and plenty enough money gets spent on them!!

 

[Jos]

It is wrong that they highlight whenever it goes wrong! It is a scare tactic to try & give reason as to why no more funding should be allowed for people like us! I have just had a very successfull operation & think with the odds of 1-2% of deaths per the rate of successfull operations a year is very low. Food is an addiction to some, where a 'normal' person has the willpower & mind set to say no to food & stop eating when full or to eat the right things, obese people don't. Whether it's emotional or physical it is more then just an 'eat less & exercise more' regime for us. I wish everyone luck & not to be put off by bad press such as this & carry on with your journey.

 

[Raynebubble]

Some people ned to understand what an addiction actually is...whether its food, drugs, alcohol, gambling etc... instead of attacking the people involved.. its very sad.
As said all surgery has its risks... but anyone thinking of or waiting for wls..think how many of these ops are done every single day.... thousands... the chances of sething going wrong are very very low... that is why you have s many tests etc done before.
The media are just bad they report on these things... but dont do the research... they dont have a clue xx

 

[Sharonimo]

Why do they always only feel the need to report when this happens?

Because it *is* news. It was the result of a coroner inquest of a death that occurred in 2010.

Likewise, the newspapers only report stories of plane crashes, or cruise ship disasters (like the Concordia) and NOT the thousands and thousands of people who take successful holidays by plane and cruise every year.

If we dared to ask them "Why don't you report on more successful bariatric ops?" they would say it is not news -- thousands of people get banded, bypassed or sleeved every day and the *majority* survive and the *majority* lose weight.

They would only have reason to report a successful band or bypass op if there was some other reason involved to make it newsworthy, e.g.

1. winning a "Slimmer of the Year" comp -- but those only exist for WW, SW, and RConley etc and I'm sure anyone who had a bariatric op would be deemed to be ineligible (perhaps BOSPA or someone could start up a "Best Bariatric Success" of the year competition ???)

2. the post band or post-bypass patient goes and does something newsworthy, likes undertakes 10 marathons in a year.


The only good thing I can see about this article is that despite a number of dumb-ass negative comments, there seem to be about the same number of positive ones, and a lot of the dumb-ass ones have been red arrowed !!!

 

[Retfordmag]

Cheers for all the comments, weight and food is an addiction the same as drugs and alcohol are