Three Treatment Options for Morbid Obesity

The three main treatment options for morbid obesity are lifestyle change, pharmacotherapy and surgery. Lifestyle change should involve restriction of food and changing poor eating habits. The relative risk of developing cancer in the surgical cohort was 0.21 after surgery compared with non-operated morbidly obese subjects.This review discusses why surgery is now having a greater role in the treatment for morbid obesity.


Among African-Americans with Type 2 diabetes, the morbid obesity rate is one out of three. People with a body mass index greater than 40 are considered to be morbidly obese. Between the survey periods of 1976-1980 and 2005-2006, the rate of morbid obesity increased 141 percent for Type 2 diabetes.
Before patients undergo surgery for morbid obesity, they must qualify for the bariatrics program. O