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Jacqueline Ezell says she felt as if she were drowning when she was rushed to the hospital four years ago. At 288 pounds, doctors had already diagnosed her with diabetes, glaucoma and high cholesterol, all side effects of obesity. She also had heart problems. "I couldn't breathe," Ezell said. Doctors gave Ezell two options. She could seek a heart transplant, or have gastric bypass surgery. She chose the surgery. The Preston woman recently told Connecticut lawmakers that she went from a size 26 to a size 6. The surgery also helped lower her cholesterol, and she was taken off a...

A long-term study of people who had surgery for obesity found they lost more weight and experienced fewer obesity-related complications, including diabetes, than people who didn't have the operation. The study, one of the strongest long-term examinations of the subject, appears in the Dec. 23 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. "It's certainly an endorsement relative to what else is available," said Dr. Caren G. Solomon, deputy editor of the journal and co-author of an accompanying editorial. "Other things don't take weight off as well, and it doesn't stay off well." "The weight loss seems to be very...

In July 2002, after decades of dieting, Jerrold Nadler, (aka the Waddler, Jerry the Hut) US Representative from New York's 8th Congressional, weighed 338 pounds. Then, as now, he was 5 '4" tall. In August 2002, Mr. Nadler underwent gastric surgery, a "sleeve job" that reduced his stomach to a small pouch. By mid-November 2002, he had lost 61 pounds. In the nine months following, he lost an additional 14 pounds. That's an average of 1.5 pounds per month. The likelihood is that he lost no weight at all for some months. He now weighs about 263 pounds and is...

The Fat of the Land In July 2002, after decades of dieting, Jerrold Nadler, (aka the Waddler, Jerry the Hut) US Representative from New York's 8th Congressional, weighed 338 pounds. Then, as now, he was 5 '4" tall. In August 2002, Mr. Nadler underwent gastric surgery, a "sleeve job" that reduced his stomach to a small pouch. By mid-November 2002, he had lost 61 pounds. In the nine months following, he lost an additional 14 pounds. That's an average of 1.5 pounds per month. The likelihood is that he lost no weight at all for some months. He now weighs...

July 11, 2002 | Kathleen Turner was on television recently talking about her pain and suffering. "The damage that I have, the damage I'll always have could have been prevented," the actress told "Good Morning, America" host Diane Sawyer on Feb. 19. Sawyer was sympathetic. Turner, she knew from a previous interview, had been battling rheumatoid arthritis for over a year now. "You're still in pain?" Sawyer asked. "Well," Turner responded, "as they say: only when you walk." Turner then went on to mention a Web site, www.ra-access.com, where fellow sufferers could get help. Sawyer eagerly repeated the site's address...