For more information or to schedule a consultation with the Jefferson Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery Program in Philadelphia, call 1-800-JEFF-NOW or use our online appointment request form

Today, more than half of Americans are overweight or obese. One in 25 American adults is morbidly obese – that is, roughly 100 pounds overweight or roughly 75 pounds overweight with other weight-related conditions, such as hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, sleep apnea and/or high cholesterol.

Obesity is a significant cause of premature death and a major contributor to many other diseases and conditions, including stroke, reflux, arthritis, gallbladder disease, incontinence, polycystic ovary syndrome and infertility.

Once a person is classified as morbidly obese, his or her odds of losing substantial weight – and keeping it off – without surgical treatment is about 5 percent. The unfortunate reality is that diet and exercise programs will fail 95 percent of these people over the long term.

The case for weight-loss surgery

Surgery continues to be the only treatment that’s scientifically proven as reliable in treating morbid obesity. Weight-loss surgery causes significant – and sustained – weight loss. In fact, the average patient loses 60–70 percent of his or her excess weight following laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and 40 percent of excess weight following laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding. Most of this weight loss occurs in the first 1.5 years.

After either surgery, diseases associated with weight, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and sleep apnea, dramatically improve or go away completely.

After gastric bypass:

• Nine out of 10 diabetics experience dramatic improvement, or the disease goes away completely.
• Three out of four people with high blood pressure experience a dramatic improvement, or the condition goes away completely.
• Sleep apnea resolves in almost everyone.

Weight loss is less with a gastric band, so these conditions improve, but to a lesser extent. After gastric banding:

• Seven out of 10 diabetics have improvement, or the disease goes away completely.
• Half of people with high blood pressure experience improvement, or the condition goes away completely.
• Sleep apnea resolves in almost everyone.

After either surgery, many patients also experience improvement in reflux, joint pain, weight-associated infertility, high cholesterol and other conditions.

Find out if you or someone you care about is a candidate for weight-loss surgery, and read more about the Jefferson Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery Program – including the fully laparoscopic procedures we perform and the team that delivers care.

Contact us

If you have further questions or would like to schedule a consultation with the Jefferson Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery Program in Philadelphia, please call 1-800-JEFF-NOW or use our online appointment request form.