Increase in weight loss surgery

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A study suggests there has been about a five fold increase in weight loss surgeries in the last few years.
Morbid obesity is a serious medical condition and one that is increasing in frequency in the USA. In 2002, it affected one in 20 of all Americans. This has no doubt led to the increasing popularity of weight loss surgery.

Doctors at the University of Chicago now report on trends in this procedure. They say there has been a marked increase from 13,365 weight loss surgeries in 1998 to 72,177 in 2002. The procedure is not without risk and the rate of in-hospital death is 0.1 to 0.2 per cent with complication rates of about five per cent.

The researchers are concerned that those of lower socioeconomic status might not be getting access to weight loss surgery. The figures suggest that there has been an increase in the proportion of those from affluent backgrounds having the surgery. Weight loss surgery is an effective treatment for morbid obesity and it should be made available. But, of course, the focus should remain on helping people stop becoming obese in the first place.

Source
Journal of the American Medical Association 19th October 2005 Volume 294 pages 1909-1917