an important and increasing public health issue worldwide.
The prevalence of obesity in the US: exceeding 30% for most age and sex groups.
prevalence of morbid obesity in the united states : more than 5% of the population
Approximately 2.8 million deaths/year are reported as a result of being overweight or obese (cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders and cancers).
Bariatric or weight-loss surgery
manifest and sustainable weight reduction
improves more than 40 obesity-related diseases or conditions
Surgical weight loss may reduce mortality by as much as 30% to 40% in the severely obese.
Attempts to treat obesity through surgical procedures were first attempted more than 60 years ago.
The use of bariatric surgery has increased at least 7-fold worldwide in the last decade.