On Sept. 13, 2010, Olson, then 19 and 290 pounds, underwent gastric bypass surgery at Loma Linda University Medical Center. Since then, Olson, now 20, has lost almost 130 pounds.
"It changed my life," said Olson, who lives in La Verne and studies art at Citrus College in Glendora. "I do not have to think about my weight every day."
Now she has self-confidence to set goals and think about the future. Olson doesn't worry whether she will be able to cross her legs while sitting in a chair or struggle to walk.
Many obese teenagers who struggle with weight loss and suffer from conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes probably would be acceptable surgery candidates if they were adults. Doctors are debating whether teens much younger than Olson would be better off having surgery rather than waiting.
Bariatric surgeons, who perform operations on the dangerously obese, typically won't operate on people younger than 16, although a few around the country operate on children as young as 13.
Some doctors believe the nation's struggle with obesity has become so dire that gastric bypass surgery should be offered to children to help the next generation get a handle on the problem.
Children with overweight and obese parents have an 80 percent chance of becoming obese, according to the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery, a professional organization for bariatric surgeons.
Dr. Stewart Rendon, director of metabolic and bariatric surgery at Loma Linda University Medical Center, said many Inland residents probably could qualify for bariatric surgery, including children. The medical center limits bariatric surgery to adults.
"Their hearts are already pumping at levels of people in their 50s. I would argue that keeping them overweight is detrimental to their health."
Ideally, Rendon said he would like to gain approval from the medical center and funding to open his practice to children as young as 13.
Meanwhile, he has started a private foundation to educate and children and adults about health problems associated with being overweight and obese.
Complications include poor vitamin and mineral absorption, which could lead to anemia, neurologic problems, kidney stones and bone disease, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Dr. Robin Blackstone, president of the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery, said she thinks the surgery has to become more available to children to save their lives.
Blackstone, who practices in Scottsdale, Ariz., treats patients as young as 16 years old. Some already suffer from adult diseases and disorders, such as sleep apnea and bad hips.
"You're limited to what else you can offer," Blackstone said. "We don't come to this conclusion except reluctantly. We have to treat this generation."
Adolescent patients must meet the same requirements that adults do to qualify for surgery, such as having a high body mass index and diagnosis of an obesity-related disease. Doctors use body mass index to determine obesity. Body mass index is calculated using weight and height.
Before and after surgery, patients work with dieticians, nutritionists and psychologists to lose weight and change their lifestyles and eating patterns.
"Surgery is a game-changer for a lot of adolescents," Blackstone said. "They fit in with their peers. They become able to manifest so many gifts that they have. It comes from the weight loss from the surgery."
In California, about 405,000 young people between ages 12 and 17 surveyed in 2009 said they were overweight or obese. An estimated 65,000 from the Inland area said they were overweight or obese.
Lap-Band surgery, highly advertised in the Inland area, is unavailable to most children. Doctors place the band around the stomach to limit intake. Gastric bypass surgery, a more invasive procedure, reduces stomach size and redirects the small intestine, which affects nutrient absorption.
Of all the adults who medically qualify for bariatric surgery every year, about 220,000 -- 1 percent -- have it performed, according to the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery. Fewer than 200 adolescents get the surgery annually.
Experts say surgery rarely is performed on children because scant data exist to determine the long-term health and development effects. They also question whether children can commit to the behavior modification that the surgery requires.
However, UCLA researchers found that bariatric surgery is increasingly becoming recognized as a way for morbidly obese adolescents to lose weight. Morbid obesity is when someone weighs at least two times the ideal weight.
Researchers reviewed records of nearly 600 California patients, ages 13 to 20 years old, who underwent gastric bypass surgery between 2005 and 2007.
The study showed that gastric banding gained popularity among adolescents, while gastric bypass dropped. Gastric banding for adolescents has not yet been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and must be performed in clinical trials. The study did not measure complications or deaths.
Olson recently looked at a photo taken of her about two months before her surgery. She hardly resembled the nearly 300-pound woman in the picture.
Tall and thin, she appeared as if she could be a model. Olson said she no longer worries whether she'll fit in a chair or whether people will talk to her. She rarely stopped smiling and got embarrassed when asked how many dates she's been on since her surgery.
"I can go to school at full force and not think about my weight," Olson said. "I just go and focus on what I want to focus on. It's like starting all over."
Her mother, Jane Olson, said she and her husband agreed to pay for surgery after they watched their daughter's weight slowly sap the joy from her life.
"Mallory was becoming increasingly less happy," Jane Olson said. "She had always looked forward to things and got excited by life. To see her, it was heartbreaking."
Mallory Olson said she became aware of her weight when she was 13 or 14. But she didn't seriously consider surgery until years later as an adult, after she became more mature, she said.
Psychologists helped Olson understand the mental and emotional connections she had made with food. She said she realized how much she was eating, when she was eating and how she was feeling when she ate.
She said she still suffers complications, including back problems, from weight loss. But her self-confidence has improved, giving her the strength to think about the future and consider studying in San Francisco, she said. Share
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