ARE YOU A CANDIDATE FOR WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY?

It's always best to lose weight through a healthy diet and regular physical activity. If you're among those who have tried but can't lose weight on your own and your excess weight is causing health problems, surgery may be an option.

Weight-reduction surgery, known generally as bariatric surgery, changes the anatomy of your digestive system to limit the amount of food you can eat and digest. As a result, surgery can provide long-term, consistent weight loss if you're a proper candidate for this procedure.

According to the American Society for Bariatric Surgery, its member surgeons performed 63,100 weight-loss operations in the United States in 2002, up from 28,800 in 1999. Despite this surge in popularity, Bariatric surgery isn't for everyone who is obese. It's a major procedure, accompanied by significant and indefinite lifestyle changes, risks and side effects.

When surgery may be an option

Generally, surgery for weight loss is reserved for people who are severely overweight and who have health problems as a result. According to guidelines developed by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and the North American Association for the Study of Obesity, surgery for obesity may be considered if:
 

• Your body mass index (BMI) is 40 or higher (extreme obesity)

• Your BMI is 35 to 39.9 (obesity) and you have a serious weight-related health problem such as diabetes or high blood pressure
   

If you wonder whether weight-loss surgery may be an option for you, calculate your BMI below and discuss the results with your doctor. Consider your lifestyle and decide if you've exhausted all efforts to lose weight through diet and exercise. Finally, evaluate your commitment to making lifestyle changes. If you do have surgery, its success still depends on a lifelong commitment to specific guidelines for diet and exercise.

If you meet these criteria for surgery, evaluation typically continues with screening by a medical team made up of an internist, a dietitian and a psychologist. The medical team wants to make sure an undiagnosed psychological condition such as depression or substance abuse won't hinder your ability to commit to lifestyle changes and to adjust to changes in body image. The "new you" might improve your handling of some social situations. In other cases, it might be a source of tension, anxiety and depression.