By MARK PRATT, Associated Press Writer
BOSTON - While the panel she assembled drafted guidelines designed to make weight loss surgery safer, Public Health Commissioner Christine Ferguson never revealed the fact that she had undergone an operation to help her lose weight.
When the 24-member panel issued its report on Wednesday, Ferguson, who has struggled with her weight for years, finally spoke out.
Her goal, she said, is to empower others to make the decisions they must in order to lose weight, whether through surgery, a change in diet, or an increase in exercise.
"There are a lot of people who have a weight problem who hide," Ferguson told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "My hope is that I spur them to understand that there is hope out there."
Ferguson had an operation called laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding in July 2003, which so far has helped her lose about 100 pounds. She has combined the surgery with changes in her diet and exercise regimen and hopes to lose another 100 pounds.
Although less invasive than the gastric bypass surgery that has been blamed for the deaths of three Massachusetts patients since the start of 2003, it still has inherent risks.
"Any time anybody chooses to have surgery, when they are going under full anesthesia, there's always risks associated with that," said Ferguson, who only decided to have surgery after dieting and exercise failed.
The surgery places a band around the stomach to reduce its volume, meaning the patient eats less food. It does not require any cutting or reconnecting of the stomach or intestines and is considered the safest form of weight loss surgery.
While surgery worked for her, Ferguson stressed that it may not be the right option for everyone trying to shed unwanted pounds.
"Some can be successful with exercise, some with diet changes," she said. "There's a spectrum of things you can do, and everybody is different."
People uncomfortable with their weight should talk to their doctors, educate themselves, then make the decision they feel is the best for them, she said.
Ferguson had the surgery long before she commissioned the 24-member panel in February.
"I commissioned the panel and I attended most of the meetings, but I tried to be very careful not to influence or try to influence what they said," she said.
Ferguson, a former varsity field hockey player at the University of Michigan, said she gained weight so gradually she hardly even noticed. "I basically gained 10 pounds a year for 25 years," she said. "That's less than one pound a month."
And although no one ever made her weight an issue in her professional life, she sometimes wondered if people thought it inappropriate that the woman who led the state public health department was overweight.
"Everyone has been good to me, and my weight has never come up, but there is another part of me that says 'How can it not come up?'" she said.
She realized after she lost weight, and people made comments to congratulate her, that her weight has been an issue.
"It's a very hard thing to hear," she said.