Bariatric Times. 2010;7(1):8–9 Read the rest of this article »

Dr. Puhl is the Director of Research & Weight Stigma Initiatives at the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.

Introduction
Despite ongoing attention to the obesity epidemic, the social consequences of obesity are often overlooked. In a recent issue of the journal Obesity,[1] a study was published that documents considerable prejudice and discrimination against individuals who are overweight and obese. The study reviews over 150 studies published in the past decade and reveals that weight bias is a persistent social problem affecting obese persons in many settings and often on a daily basis. Speaking with the lead author of the report, Dr. Rebecca Puhl, who is the Director of Research at the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University, Bariatric Times addresses this important clinical concern and how it affects the patient. Read the rest of this article »

In a recent issue of the American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC), a study was published that finds for the first time that bariatric surgery is cost effective and that insurers are able to recoup the procedure’s costs within two years—even after accounting for complications. The study finds that healthcare costs for morbidly obese patients who had the surgery were $900 lower per month than their counterparts who did not have surgery. Additionally, the study found that the complete cost of surgery, including complications, was fully recovered after 25 months. These findings are sure to offer hope to the two-thirds of overweight Americans and the more than 15 million morbidly obese Americans, and should bode well for improvement in the manner in which insurers and healthcare professionals approach bariatric surgery. If insurers fully recover the costs of laparoscopic bariatric surgery in about two years and in about four years for traditional, open bariatric surgery, and reductions in costs associated with prescription drugs, physician visits, and hospital services offset the average costs of both laparoscopic surgery and traditional, open bariatric surgery, what more do they need to know? Read on to see. Speaking with the lead economist and author of the report, Dr. Pierre Crémieux of Analysis Group, as well as the additional collaborators, Bariatric Times gets down to the basics of the study and what you need to know—What do these findings really mean? How might they affect the field of bariatric surgery? What is the potential future impact on your practice? Most importantly—How will all of this affect the patient?

Click here to view the investigators…

Read the rest of this article »

with Ramzi Alami, MD, and Vivek N. Prachand, MD

Dr. Alami is with Permanente Medical Group, Kaiser Permanente, San Francisco, California.
Dr. Prachand is with University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois.

Read the rest of this article »

Dr. Blackstone is Surgeon and Director, Scottsdale Bariatric Center, and Medical Director, Scottsdale Healthcare Bariatric Program. The Scottsdale Bariatric Center was named as an American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence in 2005.

Read the rest of this article »

A New Link: Laparoscopic Gastric Banding and Reduction in Insulin Resistance

Dr. Joan Carroll is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Integrative Physiology at the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth. Her research focuses on the cardiovascular and endocrine effects of obesity. As part of the North Texas Healthy Heart Study, she is studying ethnic differences in visceral fat distribution and its relationship to inflammatory risk markers and anthropometric measures of body composition. As part of the DREAMS (Diabetes Research, Education, and Metabolic Studies) project, Dr. Carroll and colleagues studied patients before and for one year after bariatric surgery using the laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding procedure.

Read the rest of this article »

Robert E. Grant is the Corporate Vice President and President of Allergan Medical, a position he has held since joining Allergan in June of 2006.

Read the rest of this article »