Weight Loss Surgery (WLS) Works

According to the American Heart Association bariatric surgery is the only treatment that has been proven to work long-term for severely overweight people.

Other published scientific reports document that non-operative methods alone have not been effective in achieving a significant long-term weight loss in severely obese adults. Repeated studies have proven that the majority of patients relying solely on diets will re-gain all the weight lost within five years. And studies have also shown that dietary weight loss attempts by the morbidly obese often cause depression, anxiety, irritability, weakness and an even greater preoccupation with food.

The treatment goal for severe obesity must be to reduce life threatening co-morbidities and improve the overall quality of life. Temporary fluctuations of body weight from calorie restricted diets should be avoided. Prevention of secondary complications of morbid obesity is an important goal of weight management.

The option of surgical treatment is a rational one supported by the time honored principle that diseases which harm call for therapeutic intervention (surgery) that, while vigorous, is less harmful than the disease being treated.

Bariatric surgery is not a cosmetic procedure. Surgical treatment of severe obesity does not involve the removal of adipose fat by suction or excision. Bariatric surgery involves reducing the size of the stomach. Patients who have bariatric surgery change their eating habits dramatically and immediately. You immediately begin to eat small amounts slowly and chew each mouthful well.

For the past 30 years bariatric surgery has been tested and improved. It is now standardized with clearly defined procedures with well-recognized and documented outcome results.

Link to American Society for Bariatric Surgery