If you are overweight or obese and diet and exercise didn’t help you lose weight and you still want to lose weight, gastric balloon might be the solution for you.

Gastric balloon, a silicone balloon filled with salt that is put into the stomach, is a new weight loss system that helps reduce the volume of food consumed and provides you with a faster fullness feeling. Like other weight loss applications, gastric balloon requires a healthy lifestyle. In order to experience the long term benefits of it, you need to have a permanent healthy changes in your diet and exercise regularly

In order to have this procedure, there are certain requirements to meet just like in other procedures. These are:
• Having a BMI of 25 to 30,
• Being enthusiastic about a healthy lifestyle, regular medical check-ups and involvement in behavioral therapy,
• Having not gone through a stomach or an esophagus surgery.

Gastric balloon is done in endoscopy unit without hospitalization. 
During surgery, the doctor inserts a slim catheter that carries the balloon to the stomach from the esophagus. 
After that, the doctor inserts an endoscope to the stomach (a flexible tube that has a camera). The small camera on the equipment helps the doctor see the balloon while filling with saline solution. 
The procedure takes about half an hour and generally, you can check-out from the hospital after several hours.

After 6 hours from the surgery, you can drink little amounts of liquids. 
The liquid diet lasts for until the start of the second week after the surgery. Following that point, you can eat light foods. 
You can return to your regular diet after three weeks. 
The balloon stays in the stomach for up to 6 months; after that, it is removed via an internal endoscope. 
Also, after the surgery, regular checks will be made by a medical team consisting of a dietician and a psychologist and more.

One third of patients experience pain and sickness just after the balloon is inserted to the stomach. However, these symptoms only generally lasts for a couple of days and can be treated orally. Bununla birlikte, bu semptomlar genellikle balonun gelişmesinden sadece birkaç gün sonrasına kadar sürer ve oral tedavi ile tedavi edilebilir.

There are rare risks that can happen between insertion and removal of the balloon. These include:
• The balloon might shrink
• If the balloon becomes empty, there is a risk of it being moved to digestive system.
• This might cause a blockage that needs further operations
• Other probable risks are these:
• Ulcer
• Gastric perforation that needs a stomach repair surgery

The balloon may help you feel ful quicker and this means that you will eat less food. 
The reason behind this is the balloon sitting in the stomach slows the time which stomach empties itself. 
The amount of weight loss is connected to your lifestyle and habits. 
It is typical to lose %10-15 of your weight in six months after the gastric balloon application. 
Just like other applications that involve in weight loss, gastric balloon may improve or solve problems involving weight. 
Some of them are:

• Heart disease and stroke
• Hypertension
• Severe sleep apnea
• Type II diabetes

After any weight loss application or surgery, it is possible to cannot lose weight or regain weight. 
This situation happens when you cannot follow to the changes in your lifestyle. Permanent healthy changes in your diet and regular physical activity along with exercise is the essence of preventing weight gain.