Eligibility for Weight-loss Surgery

Bariatric surgery is not a weight loss program for mildly overweight people. Bariatric surgery is designed to treat severely obese people who are 100 pounds or more overweight, and their health is at risk.

A person’s body mass index or BMI is currently the best way to determine the degree of obesity. BMI measures both a person’s height and weight and adjusts for men and women.

BMI—Body Mass Index

If you don’t know your BMI, please take a minute to calculate your BMI. If your BMI is 40 or greater, you may be a candidate for bariatric surgery.

If your BMI is more than 35 and if you have one or more of the following, you may also be a candidate for bariatric surgery:

Diabetes
High blood pressure
Coronary artery disease
High levels of fats in your blood (hyperlipidemia)
Breathing difficulties during sleep (apnea and hypoventilation)
Osteoarthritis

Do I Qualify for Weight-loss Surgery?

Patients with the following BMI can be candidates for bariatric surgery*:

Your BMI is greater than or equal to 40 (about 100 lbs. overweight)
Your BMI is greater than or equal to 35, and you have weight-related medical problems that can include the following:
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure or heart disease
- High cholesterol or high levels of fats in your blood
- Breathing difficulty during sleep (sleep apnea)
- Joint pain or arthritis

Is Weight-loss Surgery for Me?

Although you may meet the physical qualifications, you should only have bariatric surgery if you are well-informed and motivated. To have bariatric surgery, you must:

Understand and be willing to accept surgical risks.
Change your diet and eating habits.
Commit to long-term follow-up care.

Learn what weight loss surgery is best for you.

BEFORE Bariatric Surgery

Diet and Lifestyle Changes

Part of the evaluation process for bariatric surgery is consulting with our dietitians about your diet and lifestyle habits. Understanding your eating habits—in addition to making healthy lifestyle changes—is key to your weight loss success.

Before your surgery, our dietitians will coach you through a supervised weight loss process. Your insurance company may require you to lose weight before your surgery to make sure.

We will also ask you to complete a two-day food diary.

Psychiatric Evaluation

We understand that successfully losing weight after bariatric surgery involves the entire person. Because psychological and social factors are essential to successfully losing weight long-term, all participants in our bariatric surgery program will have a comprehensive pre-surgical psychological assessment.

This psychological assessment will help us ensure you have the best outcomes after your surgery.

Psychological evaluations are standard protocol for our bariatric surgery team. Most health insurance plans also require patients to have a psychological assessment before having bariatric surgery.

Take the Next Step

Your weight loss journey is personal—and it's an important decision. That's why our expert team will work with you to navigate the process from beginning to end and choose the surgical option that fits your needs. We offer a full range of procedures, conveniently in town. We've helped lots of people achieve their goals! Let us help you too.