ABSTRACT
At the present time, it is estimated that more than 40% of the population of the United States is clinically overweight (1). A 1999 report in JAMA indicated that the prevalence of obesity in the 18-to 29-year-old group had increased from 12.0% in 1991 to 18.9% in 1999 (2). It is not surprising, therefore, that most centers across the United States now offer some form of surgical therapy for morbid obesity.
