You will lose weight quickly after bariatric surgery, but surgery is only one component of a multipronged treatment for obesity. Bariatric surgery is an “aid” or “catalyst” for achieving weight loss. But it requires a life-long commitment towards lifestyle changes. The end goal of bariatric surgery is to help patients develop healthier habits and lifestyle changes over the long haul.

Bariatric surgery is not a cosmetic procedure. While losing weight can dramatically change and enhance your appearance, the real benefits of obesity surgery are health and longevity. Obesity is linked to more than 20 chronic health conditions, including cancer risk and weight loss helps you to minimize the impact on almost all of them.

Most people think that weight loss surgery is only for people who are very severely obese and not for them. In fact, the people who benefit the most from surgery are not only obese, but they also have other associated medical conditions that can impact their health and affect their quality of life. So, if you have a BMI of 32.5 or more and are taking medications for type 2 diabetes, raised cholesterol, raised blood pressure, have sleep apnoea, or are having chronic low back pain/knee joint pain, infertility, fatty liver etc., you are probably a candidate for bariatric surgery.

The risk of death from bariatric surgery is lower than for people with severe obesity who don’t have the surgery. Today, the risk of death from bariatric surgery is considered equivalent to or lower than other surgeries, such as gallbladder surgeries or hip replacements. In fact, bariatric surgery can also significantly lower the risk of death from other causes such as heart disease, stroke, and some cancers. Overall, people who don’t have bariatric surgery for severe obesity are often the ones at risk from having a shorter lifespan.