Congressman sheds pounds after stomach-shrinking surgery


	Nadler: "For a lot of people, [the surgery] can be lifesaving. It can give us additional years. I think I'll probably be around longer. I'll be able to do more for the public."

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a Democrat from New York, has taken extreme steps to lose weight. Last summer, when he was tipping the scales at 338 pounds, the 5-foot 4-inch congressman decided drastic measures were in order. He had surgery to reduce the size of his stomach.

Why did he decide to undergo risky surgery to combat his obesity?

Nadler -- now 60-plus pounds lighter -- joined "Crossfire" hosts Tucker Carlson and Paul Begala on Tuesday to discuss his experience.

BEGALA: Congressman Nadler, good to see you. I don't mean that just in the perfunctory way. It's terrific to see you.

You're looking great. And I'm glad things have gone well on the surgery. But let me begin with a statistic that one out of 200 people who have this kind of surgery die from it. Why did you take such drastic steps?

NADLER: Well, I've been overweight my entire adult life, and I've tried everything I could. I've done dieting and Phen-Fen and liquid diets. And I went to Duke University's weight loss clinic for a month about five years ago, and nothing worked. And as you know, the statistics are that being grossly overweight leads to all kinds of health problems.

I have a 17-year-old son. I want to see him grow up. I want to see grandchildren. I have a lot of things I still want to do in public life. And how many grossly overweight 80-year-olds do you know?

So I just weighed the risks, and this seemed the better thing to do.

BEGALA: Good for you.

CARLSON: Congressman, we're seeing pictures of you on the screen, how you looked before. You look much better and much different. Congratulations.

But I wonder what message it sends to those viewers who are dieting. I mean, it sounds like you didn't think you had any option -- that no diet at all worked. Is that right?

NADLER: That's exactly right. You get to the point -- and this is true for many really overweight people -- where the statistics are that for very heavily overweight people, basically nothing except surgery will work to take off large amounts of weight and keep it off.

You can lose weight, but to keep it off is another question. Now when you're grossly overweight, the odds of loosing a lot of that weight and keeping it off without surgery are not very good.

BEGALA: Now Al Roker, the "Today" show weatherman, has famously had the surgery of similar -- I guess the same surgery -- recently, and he looks great, too. But I was reading accounts of his surgery, and they said they reduced the size your stomach to about the size of an egg. I mean, what's dinner like now versus a few months ago?

NADLER: Well, I had a slightly different type of surgery than he did. So mine is a little bigger.

But my dinner is similar to what I would have had before, except you eat less. And they tell you to eat the heavy protein first, and then the vegetable, and then the carbohydrate last, because they're worried you won't get enough protein.

But I generally eat more or less what I would have, but less of it, much less of it.

CARLSON: Now Congressman, you mentioned protein versus carbohydrates. Congress has a lot to say about what the American people ought to be eating. And as you know, the USDA pyramid has carbs on the bottom. And the message to people who eat, which of course is everybody, is you ought to be eating a lot of carbohydrates relative to the amount of protein you eat.

Do you think that's the right message to send?

NADLER: Well, I'm not a doctor, and I'm not an expert. I don't know. But I did see in one of the newspapers today someone reported at some medical convention an experiment with a few thousand people in which they concluded that the Atkins approach -- which was high fat, low carbohydrates -- may be superior.

But I'm not the person to ask that. Ask the medical people.

BEGALA: In fact I did see that. Now one caveat our audience should know is that that study was sponsored by the Atkins people, as well. So I'm not exactly sure how much faith any of us should put in that.

NADLER: I didn't know that.

BEGALA: Another public policy question since you are a member of Congress, and one of my favorites, I have to confess.

NADLER: Thank you.

BEGALA: You're a strong supporter of health insurance for all Americans. Now this is a procedure, I'm told, that costs $55,000. And those of us who are fortunate enough to have health insurance get it covered. What do we do about the 42 million Americans who don't have any health insurance and might need surgery like this?

NADLER: Well, I don't think it costs that much. It probably cost between $30,000 and $40,000.

Well, I think that adequate health care is a right, not a privilege, and that everyone ought to have coverage. That's why I favor universal health care insurance. I always have.

And that's a major question for Congress and the administration. What are we going to do about people who are uninsured?

And you know, we have to come up with a solution to that. I mean, that's a major political problem. I personally favor a single-payer health plan. But there are other people who have other ideas.

People should not be able to have lifesaving surgery or other procedures because they have money or because they have health insurance, and other people who don't, can't do that. That's just not acceptable, or shouldn't be, in the United States ...

BEGALA: Let me just kind of ask you the bottom-line question. We've got viewers who are watching this. They may be in a similar situation (to) the one you were (in) a few months ago.

Do you recommend this procedure to other people watching you right now?

NADLER: I recommend that people who are grossly overweight consult their physician and seriously consider it. There are serious risks, but there are also great advantages. And if you're over a certain mass index, which is a ratio of your weight to your height, the American Heart Association says this is the treatment of choice.

Because if you're really grossly overweight, you run all kinds of health risks, and you have to very cold-bloodedly figure out, what's the greater risk? Is it 1-out-of-200 chances of dying from the surgery? But it's probably greater than 1-out-of-200 risks of dying early from heart disease or whatever if you don't (have the surgery and) you're really, grossly obese.

But I would never recommend the surgery to anyone. I would recommend they seriously consider it (and that) they consult a physician. (Then) read up on the Internet about it and weigh the risks.

For a lot of people, it can be lifesaving. It can give us additional years. I think I'll probably be around longer. I'll be able to do more for the public. I'll be able to do more for my grandchildren -- I'll see them.

Whereas, if I didn't, I suspect I'll -- if I hadn't had the operation, I might not.

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