What is morbid obesity?
Morbid obesity is a complex, chronic disease associated with serious health problems such as heart disease, diabetes, sleep apnea, hypertension and premature death. These medical problems occur more frequently as excess weight increases.
You are considered morbidly obese, if you’re more than 100 pounds overweight with a body mass index (BMI) above 40, or a BMI above 35 with an obesity-related condition, such as diabetes.
How dangerous is obesity? Obesity contributes to more than 300,000 deaths a year in the United States. It is the second leading cause of preventable death.
How can I lose weight?
If you’re like most overweight people, you’ve tried many times and failed to lose weight with diets, exercise and pills. Exercise is usually difficult because of limited mobility or weight-related problems such as asthma, arthritis and back pain. In that case, weight-loss surgery may be an option for you. The procedure reduces the capacity of the stomach and decreases your appetite, making long-term weight loss achievable.
