What you may and may not know about the Obesity Epidemic and what some people are opting to do about it.

During the past 20 years, obesity among adults has risen significantly in the United States. The latest data from the National Center for Health Statistics show that 30 percent of U.S. adults 20 years of age and older are obese, that equals over 60 million people.

This increase is not limited to adults. The percentage of young people who are overweight has more than tripled since 1980. Among children and teens aged 6–19 years, 16 percent (over 9 million young people) are considered overweight.

Bariatric Surgery
   True Statements

Bariatric reduces the size of your stomach to the size of an egg.

• The pouch that is formed by surgery can only hold about half an ounce of food. After surgery extensive dietary, exercise and medical guidelines must be followed for the rest of ones life.

Following surgery, patients lose up to 70% of their excess weight within the first year of after surgery.

• Patients also have reduced risks for high blood pressure, diabetes and degenerative joint disease.

The number of bariatric surgeries doubled from 2002 to 2004.

• Surgeons performed more than 63-thousand weightloss operations in 2002 and 140-thousand in 2004.