ABSTRACT
As has been widely recognized by the media in the last few years, the percentage of Americans—and the percentage of individuals in most other countries as well—who are obese has been accelerating rapidly over the last twenty years (Ogden, Carroll, & Flegal, 2003). Although the category of overweight (body mass index [BMI] 25–29.9 kg/m2) has stayed relatively stable, the percentage of individuals with a BMI greater than 30 kg/m2 (obese) and with a BMI greater than 40 kg/m2 (extreme obesity) has increased dramatically. We know that as BMI increases, overall mortality increases, as does the risk for a variety of untoward medical and psychosocial outcomes (Bray, 2003). Given that most obesity treatments have modest effects at best and many times do not result in significant weight change over time, for individuals with severe obesity, bariatric surgery procedures offer a viable and cost-effective alternative (Colquitt, Clegg, Sidhu, & Royle, 2003; Craig & Tseng, 2002; Fang, 2003; Herron, 2004; Mattison & Jensen, 2004). The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of the various surgical treatments available and to discuss their relative benefits and risks.
