title: Using lifestyle medicine in U.S. health care to treat obesity: too many bariatric surgeries?
abstract: More than one-third of Americans are classified as obese. Many clinicians perform bariatric surgery (BSx) when it is said that lifestyle intervention failed. However, BSx is medically complex, with extremely variable success, certain failures, major complications, and sometimes death. Although many studies declare BSx as more effective for producing weight loss than nonsurgical lifestyle management, these conclusions are flawed when lifestyle management between cohorts are not identical. Lifestyle behavior change is essential to success for both surgical and nonsurgical weight loss, as over 50% of BSx patients regain weight without lifestyle modification. Indeed, programs that include self-reward and reinforcement are extremely effective. It is therefore possible that successful BSx is simply an intrinsic reward for an intensive change in lifestyle behavior. Accounting for the costs and risks associated with BSx, providing state and federal resources for lifestyle behavior change programs could provide a key opportunity for the war against obesity.
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Greenville, SC; and 2Department of Health Promotion, Education and Behavior, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC.
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Trilk
authors.forename: Ann Blair
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Kennedy
mesh_terms: D050110:Bariatric Surgery / Q000639:trends*; D001521:Behavior Therapy / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D009765:Obesity / Q000523:psychology* / Q000601:surgery*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic / Q000379:methods; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D015431:Weight Loss