Reasons for recommending bariatric surgery over non-surgical treatments

Why have I been recommended bariatric surgery over non-surgical treatment for obesity? So the reason you've been referred for a surgery, so-called bariatric surgery, which is surgery for weight loss, is because your weight or your health have reached a stage where non-surgical interventions are not going to work. So we know that as patients put on more and more weight and as their body mass index increases and increases more and more, there are certain permanent changes that take place in their metabolism which make it almost impossible to lose weight using non-surgical approaches. So that's usually one of the main reasons why patients get referred for surgical weight loss or bariatric surgery. Obviously there are certain thresholds for this which are based on your weight and your height. These are called the body mass index. And in the United Kingdom, people eligible for referral on the National Health Service need to have a body mass index of 35 with a health problem or over 40 without any health problems, and they will be eligible for bariatric surgery. Equally, if they are diabetic, they can actually be referred with a body mass index of 30. And if they're diabetic, but of Southeast Asian origin, they can be referred if their body mass index is 27 and over. And that's because the National Health Service recognizes that patients in these categories are not going to lose sufficient weight without surgery. And the effects of the surgery on weight loss, but perhaps more importantly, on their health and metabolic health is immense. And that's why surgery is recommended in these patient groups.