Previous studies have documented the beneficial effects of bariatric surgery. A 2004 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) showed bariatric surgery patients lost between 62 and 75 percent of their excess weight and resolved or improved a number of obesity-related conditions including Type 2 diabetes (remission in 76.8% and significant improvement in 86%); hypertension (eliminated in 61.7% and significantly improvement in 78.5%); high cholesterol (reduced in more than 70%); and sleep apnea (eliminated in more than 85%).

Other studies show that obese individuals spend 36% more on health care costs and 77% more on medications per year than individuals of normal weight, and that annual obesity-related health spending reached $147 billion in 2008, double what it was a decade ago.

People who are considered eligible for surgery are morbidly obese, which is generally 75 to 100 or more pounds overweight, have a BMI of 40 or more, or a BMI of 35 or more with an obesity-related disease, such as Type 2 diabetes, heart disease or sleep apnea.

According to the ASMBS, more than 15 million Americans have morbid obesity and in 2009 an estimated 220,000 people had some form of bariatric surgery. Only 1% of the clinically eligible population is being treated for morbid obesity through bariatric surgery. The most common methods of bariatric surgery are laparoscopic gastric bypass and laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB).

SOURCE American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery