More than one-third of the adult population is overweight or obese. An estimated 19 million Americans are morbidly obese, having increased risks for serious diseases and likelihood of shorter life expectancy. This disease is called "morbid obesity" because it is associated with progressive, serious and debilitating diseases. It is a major contributor to diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, stroke, osteoarthritis of weight-bearing joints, respiratory problems, gallstones, urinary incontinence, swollen legs that may develop ulcers, and gastro-esophageal reflux.
New evidence suggests that obesity may play an important role in the development of certain cancers. All of these diseases, that are made worse by being heavy, contribute to a shorter life expectancy. But the disease of obesity is more than just a list of medical conditions. Obese persons are subjected to social, psychological and economic consequences that can be quite devastating. Prejudice against people suffering from obesity is common in American society
Talking to Your Patients about Surgery
Discussing obesity with a patient can be challenging. When the time comes, please use our comprehensive guide to talking to your patients about bariatric surgery. This is a printable document developed by the Weight-control Information Network (WIN), a service of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) department of the National Institutes of Health. WIN is the Federal Government's lead agency responsible for biomedical research on nutrition and obesity.
For more information visit http://www.win.niddk.nih.gov.
For more data on the effectiveness of bariatric surgery and the option to earn CME credits, please visit http://discoveryhealthcme.discovery.com/beyond/miniPlayer.html?playerId=62908093001.
Click here to download a pdf copy of our 2010 Annual Report.