Bariatric surgery for morbid obesity

Morbid obesity is defined as being 100 lbs or more over the ideal body weight or having a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 40 or greater. According to the American Society for Bariatric Surgery, morbid obesity is a serious disease and must be treated as such. Obesity results from the excessive consumption of calories and lack of exercise to burn the calories. The net result is calories or energy is stored and turned to fat that remains on the body.
Bariatric surgery is one solution taht offers a dramatic loss of excess weight by modifying the stomach and/or intestines to reduce the amount of food that can be eaten.


24 million U.S. adults are living with morbid obesity and may qualify for bariatric surgery based on NIH guidelines.
There are several different bariatric surgery procedures, but the two general ways in which they work are restriction and malabsorption.