Having a Tonsillectomy is Associated with Weight Gain in Children
One would think that tonsils have absolutely no connection with weight gain. Similarly, no one would expect a link between gum health and erectile dysfunction. But research shows both cases to be true, and studies indicate that going through a tonsillectomy, a surgical procedure to  remove the tonsils, can result in weight gain.
The report, published in the journal Otolaryngology, analyzed the data from 11 different studies which followed 1,549 children for up to seven years postoperatively. It is obvious that as children age and grow, but the results show that weight gain was much higher in those who had their tonsils removed than in those who hadn’t undergone tonsil surgery. The average increase in weight was 2.15 kg, or 4.7 pounds for those who had undergone tonsil surgery. The amount of weight gained may not seem like a lot, and it isn’t, but it is higher when compared to the average weight gain in children who don’t have a tonsillectomy.
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This research is especially important to analyze since over half a million children undergo a tonsillectomy each year. The findings are, however, arguably insignificant when it comes to being one of the main causes for obesity. The report shows only an association, rather than a solid cause and effect relationship. Researchers aren’t exactly sure as to why children who undergo tonsil surgery generally gain more weight than their non-surgery counterparts. Since tonsil surgery is most often introduced after the tonsils have become so inflamed and enlarged, usually after several tonsil infections, it is possible that once the tonsils are removed, the gateway in the throat is opened up. Children with enlarged tonsils may have trouble swallowing or eating, and therefore may consume less food than those with normal sized tonsils. But once the tonsils are removed, that difficulty may vanish, and eating ability could be normalized.
I’m not a firm believer in surgery, and believe that removing the tonsils is just removing the symptom. Needing a tonsillectomy should not be considered normal, as enlarged or inflamed tonsils are not normal. Whatever is causing the tonsils to be infected is what should be focused on in order to prevent all of this unnecessary surgery in the first place.
