by Heather Paterson, BSc; and Kamran Zamanian, PhD

Ms. Paterson is Research Analyst, and Dr. Zamanian is Head of Research, iData Research Inc.

Introduction

Obesity is considered a prevalent and growing disease both in the US and globally by multiple leading health organizations, such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to the CDC, over the past 20 years there has been a considerable increase in the incidence of obesity in the US. In 2007, more than 65 percent of US states had rates of obesity between 25 and 30 percent, and not a single state had levels less than 18 percent.[1] The use of the adjustable gastric band(AGB) to treat obesity in the US is showing a very healthy increase. Current devices are made of inert materials such as silicone and are implanted around the proximal stomach to decrease food intake. The mechanism of action is not completely understood, but “satiety,” rather than “restriction,” seems to be a common theme among successful patients. These devices are used to treat the disease of morbid obesity, with the goal of ameliorating medical comorbid conditions and prevention of obesity-related diseases. As the US continues to struggle with rapidly increasing obesity rates, the AGB market will increase through 2015.[2] Read the rest of this article »

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