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Weight Loss Surgery: Are you a Candidate?
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At Bridge Bariatrics, weight loss surgery is performed only on patients who meet well-established medical criteria.
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- In 1991, following 2 days of discussion by experts, the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Development Conference on Gastrointestinal Surgery for Severe Obesity defined criteria for selection of severely obese patients for weight loss surgery. These criteria have since been widely accepted by the international medical community. You may access an online version of the 1991 NIH Consensus Statement on Gastrointestinal Surgery for Severe Obesity here.
- If you are of Asian ethnicity, slightly different criteria apply. This is because of evidence that Asians have an increased risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease at lower BMI’s compared to other ethnic groups. In 2004, a World Health Organization (WHO) expert consultation addressed this issue. This WHO panel of experts recommended new, lower BMI cut-off points for public health intervention in Asian populations. You may obtain a copy of this report here.
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To see if you meet the criteria for weight loss surgery, first use our BMI calculator to calculate your BMI.
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Based on the NIH Consensus Statement & the WHO Expert Consultation, people whose BMI fall in the following ranges meet selection criteria for bariatric surgery:
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* ’comorbidities’ refers to obesity-related illnesses including hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolaemia, cardiovascular disease, obstructive sleep apnoea, arthritis among others
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