The message sounds simple: To lose weight, you must eat less and exercise more. However, for many morbidly overweight individuals, losing weight is not as easy as it sounds. After diets and exercise fail, some people turn to bariatric surgery for obesity. Gastric bypass surgery and adjustable gastric banding are two bariatric procedures performed at Cleveland Clinic. Both obesity treatments have excellent long-term track records for weight loss. Also known as gastric bypass surgery, banding or weight loss surgery, bariatric surgery for obesity has an excellent long-term track record for helping sufferers lose weight.

Morbid obesity is a chronic debilitating condition that requires long-term lifestyle changes. Anyone considering obesity surgery for weight loss needs to anticipate maintaining these changes, as well as the risks and benefits of morbid obesity surgery. This web site is designed to help you understand each bariatric surgery procedure offered at Cleveland Clinic and the intensive evaluation process involved in making a surgical weight loss choice.

About Obesity and Morbid Obesity

Obesity is a common problem in the United States. Current research suggests that obesity affects one in three Americans . In this country alone, about 300,000 deaths per year can be linked to obesity.

Obesity is defined as weighing at least 100 pounds over ideal body weight or having a body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to 35. The BMI is a mathematical formula that factors a person’s height and weight in determining obesity. A person is considered to have morbid obesity with a BMI of 40 or greater. Persons with a BMI of 40 or more or those with a BMI or 35 or more with serious health conditions may be candidates for obesity surgery such as adjustable gastric banding.