Alana 'Honey Boo Boo' Thompson Is Considering Weight Loss Surgery — but Should Teens Get it? A Doctor Explains

Photo: Slaven Vlasic/Getty The 16-year-old reality star, also known as Honey Boo Boo, admitted that though she lacks incentive for healthy eating, she believes the weight loss surgery will give her additional motivation to try to get down to about 145 lbs. PEOPLE spoke with Dr. Christopher McGowan, a gastroenterologist and obesity medicine specialist with True You Weight Loss, to discuss how an ESG works and whether the procedure is best for children to undergo.

Alana 'Honey Boo Boo' Thompson Pays Tribute to Sister Anna After Her Death: 'I Know You Will Forever Cheer Me on in Heaven'

Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell; Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson.Photo: instagram (2) Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompsonis opening up aboutthe loss of her sister. On Sunday, Thompson’s mother, reality starMama June Shannon, announced the sad news onInstagramthat her oldest daughter, Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell, had died following a stage 4 adrenal carcinoma diagnosis in January. She was 29. To honor her sister, Thompson, 18, posted a touching tribute to Cardwell onInstagramon Sunday, as she reflected on her last moments with her.

Alana 'Honey Boo Boo' Thompson Says She Doesn't 'Care' What People Think About Her Relationship

Photo: honeybooboo/InstagramAlana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompsonis defending her relationship with her 21-year-old boyfriend, Dralin Carswell.TheToddlers & Tiarasalum, 16, admitted that she is not concerned about criticism over the pair’s age difference in a recentEntertainment Tonightinterview with sisterLauryn “Pumpkin” Shannon.“In our relationship, the two most things that everybody is always talking about is our age gap and definitely because he’s Black and I’m white and we’re an interracial couple,” she explained.However, the backlash won’t stop the reality star from being happy in her relationship.

Alana 'Honey Boo Boo' Thompson Shares Heartbreaking Tribute to Late Sister Anna 'Chickadee' Cardwell

Alana Thompson and Anna Cardwell.Photo:Dia Dipasupil/Getty; Anna Cardwell/ Instagram Dia Dipasupil/Getty; Anna Cardwell/ Instagram Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompsonis remembering her late sister,Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell. On Monday, the reality star, 18, shared a heartbreakingTikTok videothat featured photos of Cardwell and their family as a rendition ofBenson Boone’s “In The Stars” played in the background. Fans of theToddlers & TiarasandHere Comes Honey Boo Boostars first learned ofCardwell’s deathat age 29 through anInstagram postfrom their mom,Mama June Shannon, on Sunday.

Alana 'Honey Boo Boo' Thompson Threatens to Take Mama June to 'Court' for Stealing Her Earnings: You Don't 'Give a F---'

Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson and “Mama June” Shannon attends the 2nd Annual Bossip “Best Dressed List” event at Avenue on July 31, 2018 in Los Angeles, California.Photo:Robin L Marshall/Getty Robin L Marshall/Getty Mama June Shannonis facing the wrath of her family afterstealingher daughterAlana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson’s earnings. On Friday’s episode ofMama June: Family Crisis, Mama June revealed that she had taken money from Alana’s Coogan account — a trust where parents of child stars are legally required to deposit a percentage of their earnings — while discussing her plans for college in Colorado.