The number of weight loss surgeries carried out in U.S. increased by 450% from 1998 to 2002, according to a new study.
The researchers say that dramatic surgery in weight loss surgery (bariatric) is due to both an increase in advertising for the treatment of obesity, as well as the development of less invasive laparoscopic techniques in recent years.For example, the annual rate of laparoscopic weight loss surgeries grew 44 times from 1998 to 2002, compared with a triple increase for traditional open bariatric procedures.
Researchers say surgery is currently the only effective sustained weight loss treatment for seriously obese people. Bariatric surgery involves circumventing or drastically reducing the size of the stomach in order to decrease the amount of food a person is able to digest or eat.
Best Cleanses For Weight Loss - Weight Loss Surgeries on the Rise
Using information from national databases, researchers found that the number of people who underwent weight loss surgery rose from 12,775 in 1998 to 70,256 in 2002.
Most of these bariatric operations were gastric deviations, which increased from 78% of all weight loss surgeries in 1998 to 92% in 2002.
Other study findings include:
- Minimally invasive laparoscopic bariatric procedures increased from 2% to almost 18% of all surgeries.
- The number of institutions that carry out bariatric surgeries increased from 131 to 323.
- The number of bariatric surgeons with adherence to the American Society of Bariatric Surgeons increased from 258 to 631 during the study time course.
The results appear in the December edition of the surgery files.
