Gastric Bypass | Lap Band | Sleeve Gastrectomy | Gastric Plication

Weight loss surgical device makers are pushing the U.S. government and health insurers to cover weight loss surgery.  Almost 73 million people in America are classified as obese, defined as having Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or greater. Additionally, about 12 million of those people are considered morbidly obese, with a BMI over 40. […]

According to a new scientific statement by the American Heart Association, parents and caregivers should be involved in treatment programs for their obese children. The authors of the statement studied research that evaluated outcomes of behavioral change strategies. Some of the strategies that they looked at included high involvement by parents of obese children in […]

On Friday, 3 members of congress called for an investigation into 1-800-GET-THIN, a Southern California company that markets the Lap Band and is associated with several surgical centers. The Congressmen’s request for this investigation also included an overall investigation of the safety and efficacy of the Lap Band. A strong factor in prompting this request […]

Weight loss surgery in teens is a controversial topic.  Some experts feel that surgery is a drastic option for teen patients whose bodies may still be developing and who have not been given much time to lose weight on their own. On the other hand, some experts feel that the alternative to surgery is worse […]

The future of treatment of severe obesity is in personalized medicine, which will take into consideration the individual’s DNA, combined with a personalized, in-depth understanding of physical fitness and clinical well-being, according to an article published this month in Translating Science. This type of personalized treatment is a radical shift from today’s treatment, which is […]

The United Nations (UN) held a General Assembly meeting in New York where they discussed the prevention of noncommunicable diseases, specifically obesity and diabetes. It was only the second time in UN history that it has gathered to discuss health issues. (The only other time was addressing the HIV/AIDS crisis in 2001.) CNN published an […]

From Dr. Emma Patterson who attended a course this week in San Francisco: Metabolic Applied Research Strategy (MARS) According to the presenter, Dr. Lee Kaplan – Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and world-renowned obesity researcher – the current obesity epidemic results from a failure of normal weight and energy regulatory mechanisms, which […]

As of January 1, 2012, state employees and others covered by Georgia’s state insurance, will no longer have insurance coverage for bariatric surgery. The government decided that it was too expensive to cover the weight loss surgery procedures, although research shows that in the longer-term, the cost of the surgery will likely be more than […]

Currently, Medicare does not cover the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy (‘the sleeve’). However this lesser-known weight loss procedure is gaining traction with physicians in the US who see it as a strong choice for patients considering bariatric surgery. Although several major insurance providers do cover the sleeve, it has not yet been added to the list […]

Today’s technology is being used in many areas of health management. At the national Obesity 2011 meeting, Dr. Edward Sazonov presented a talk on the goal of moving towards the ability to accurately measure energy balance with sensors. (energy balance defined as calories consumed minus calories burned). Dr. Sazonov began his talk with an overview […]