National Trends in Bariatric Surgery, 1996-2002

Abstract

In the face of a growing national epidemic of obesity in all age groups in the United States,^1,2 surgical therapy is one of few obesity interventions shown to be effective in the long term.^3-5 Bariatric surgery, for which individuals with extreme obesity (body mass index [BMI] [calculated as weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters] ≥40 or BMI ≥35 in the presence of significant comorbidities) are eligible, includes procedures such as gastric bypass, gastric banding, gastroplasty, and biliopancreatic diversion or duodenal switch. A recent meta-analysis³ including more than 22 000 patients concluded that bariatric surgery has led to significant reductions in BMI and excess weight and improvements in conditions such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and sleep apnea.