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Obesity is a world-wide epidemic that is caused by multiple factors including poor eating habits, genetic predisposition, and lack of exercise. Obesity leads to significant health problems including liver cirrhosis, heart attack, stroke, cancer, sleep apnea, disability and early death. Weight loss surgery is the single most effective treatment of obesity. As a result, patients experience improved quality of life and increased length of life by improving and preventing the health problems associated with obesity after they have surgery. However, in order to achieve these results, all patients must adopt permanent life-style changes to increase their level of activity and improve their eating habits, in addition to having surgery.
For more information, watch this short video from the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery to see how weight loss surgery could impact your life. In this video, discover how a Navy Veteran, a Stanford Nurse, and a former NFL player used weight loss surgery to overcome their struggles with obesity.
- It Starts Today - How obesity surgery helps people reclaim their lives
- Treat Your Obesity - Patient Learning Center
Lahey’s Surgical Weight Loss Center offers patients a multidisciplinary team approach to their treatment. The program works with specialists in nutrition, psychology and social work to provide patients with the most comprehensive weight loss experience possible, giving each patient better odds of a successful and maintainable outcome.
Defining Obesity
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines obesity as a range of weight that has been shown to increase the likelihood of certain diseases and conditions. These diseases are serious on their own, and when combined with obesity can cause a host of problems, including premature death.
Determining Obesity: Body Mass Index
Obesity is determined using a measure called body mass index (BMI). Your BMI is calculated by an equation that factors weight and height.
A normal BMI ranges from 18.5 to 24.9. A person with a BMI of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight. A BMI of 30 or more is considered obese, with a 40-plus BMI classified as morbidly obese. As an example, a five-foot, seven-inch adult can weigh anywhere between 118 and 159 pounds and fall within the normal range.
It’s important to note that BMI does not measure body fat. An extremely muscular and fit person may register a high BMI and be very healthy. Although an important issue in determining whether a person is at risk for certain diseases, BMI is not the only factor considered.
Physicians also consider the following:
- Diet
- Physical activity
- Blood pressure
- Cholesterol
- Body fat distribution ("apple-shape" versus "pear-shape")
Determine your BMI with an interactive calculator.
Causes of Obesity
Obesity is multifactorial disease—which means it has many causes. Simply eating too much and exercising too little do not cause obesity, although both play large parts in weight gain. Obesity is related to a variety of genetic, environmental and medical factors. For example, a person whose parents were obese is more likely to be obese than someone whose parents were normal weights. Additionally, obesity can cause or exacerbate a number of other medical conditions—called comorbidities—such as sleep apnea and high blood pressure.
Americans live an increasingly sedentary lifestyle. Few Americans get enough exercise—currently, the government recommends one hour every day. These low activities levels, in addition to many peoples’ reliance on convenient prepared foods that are often high in fat and low in nutritional value, are contributing factors to increasing rates of obesity.
For additional information on obesity, obesity related diseases and weight loss surgery:
- American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery
- CDC Overweight and Obesity Resources
- National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases
- National Institute of Health
- American Board of Surgery
- The Obesity Society
For recipe ideas:
- Cooking Light
- Eating Well
- Skinny Taste
- Bariatric Eating
- Nashua Nutrition
- USDA Choose My Plate
- Bariatric Cookery
For exercise resources:
- CDC Physical Activity Guide
- Sparkpeople- Printable exercises
- USDA Choose My Plate- Physical Activity
- Foldable Recumbent Bike for your Home
- Lahey Outpatient Center, Danvers: Weight Management Program
For online food/exercise trackers:
About Our Monthly Support Group Sessions
If you are preparing for surgery with us and want to learn more about patient experiences with surgery or have had surgery and would like support from other post-op patients, consider attending a support group. Meetings cover all of our weight loss surgery options. It can be a very helpful way to keep you on track with long term weight loss goals.
Join these monthly meetings virtually or in person at the following locations:
For more information, call 781-744-3044. Registration for the support group is not needed.
