About Obesity

Obesity is a disease of excess fat storage that robs us of a fulfilling life and causes the development of a number of serious diseases which take the lives of approximately 1000 American’s daily. It does so in the severely obese patient by directly causing the development of other diseases such as hypertension, adult-onset diabetes and sleep apnea to name but a few. These other diseases are referred to as comorbid diseases. The good news, however, is that significant weight loss can often lead to the complete resolution of comorbid diseases in the severely obese patient. It is important to understand that not all obesity is the same. Physicians use a calculation called a body mass index (BMI) to classify degrees of obesity and define healthy weight.

BMI Calculator

What many people do not understand is that the proper treatment of obesity is different for each BMI classification. For example, for the overweight and obese patient, the proper treatment is diet and exercise accompanied by behavior modification and perhaps pharmaceutical agents. However, for the severely obese, morbid and super morbidly obese patients diet and exercise simply do not provide lasting weight loss 99% of the time (see cost of obesity). Multiple attempts and failures with inappropriate treatment can lead the severely obese patient to a state of despair regarding their weight. At the New Life Center for Bariatric Surgery we partner with the patient in a compassionate environment to choose the appropriate treatment for them. The only realistic hope for long-term weight loss and a New Life begins with bariatric surgery.

In order to qualify as a surgical candidate the patient must:

• be 18 years of age
• have no medical contraindications for surgery and
• have a body mass index of 35-39.9 with associated comorbid disease or a body mass index of 40 or greater

Cost of Severe Obesity

At the New Life Center for Bariatric Surgery we understand that the patient has tried every possible diet imaginable before seriously considering weight loss surgery. Diet and exercise simply are not effective for achieving and maintaining significant weight loss in this severely obese. The table below shows the annual costs of obesity.

In the United States billions of dollars are spent annually on dieting. It is estimated that the cost of losing weight with dieting is 100 times greater for each pound lost than it is with weight loss surgery. This is because people do not usually achieve long term weight loss with diet and exercise, yet they spend untold hours and dollars doing so.  The table below shows the annual cost of some of the more popular diets as well as the percentage of patients completing the diet for one year.

As you can see, the weight lost is extremely modest and only about half the patients are able to complete one year at dieting an expense that is quite high.

If you would like to break the cycle of weight gain and decreasing activity… If you would like to begin a New Life, please call the New Life Center for Bariatric Surgery. There is hope!