“With more than half of Americans being overweight and roughly twelve million people in the United States having severe obesity, the number one health issue is now out of control. Obesity is one health issue that can be controlled by helping those who have it to take control of their weight, their health and their life. Obesity is a major concern because it leads to premature death and other major medical conditions like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, sleep apnea and degenerative joint disease to name a few. In 1997 the World Health Organization defined obesity as “a disease in which excess fat is accumulated to an extent that health may be adversely affected.” There are programs that offer surgical and non-surgical treatments for weight loss. To find out about what some of these programs offer you can attend seminars at local hospitals in Illinois or if you are in the Chicago area there may be information at a local south Chicago hospital.

Many of the programs give you an overview and then you need to consult your doctor about what is best for you. You will be evaluated for weight management with a thorough exam that includes blood work, other diagnostic tools, a detailed look at your diet and your exercise history. To determine roughly where you fall in the definition of obesity if you have a body mass index (BMI) of 18.5 to 24.9 you are in the normal range. If your BMI is between 25 and 29.9 you are considered overweight. If your BMI is from 30 to 34.9 you are considered obese. If your BMI is 35 to 39.9 you fall in the severe obese category and if you have a BMI of over 40 you are in the morbidly obese category.

If you fall into one of the overweight categories you may work with your doctor and a dietician to get control of your weight and your life. If you need more you may be referred by your doctor to have more drastic means of control implemented in your life. One of those measures includes bariatrics or weight loss surgery. Along with a dietitian and sometimes an exercise physiologist, doctors are having great success with bariatric surgery. According to a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Statement, bariatric surgery is the most effective therapy available for morbid obesity and can result in improvement or complete resolution of obesity co-morbidities. There is a world epidemic according to the NIH.

According to Worldwatch Institute the number of overweight people is approximately equal to the number of underweight people in the world. Approximately two-thirds of the US population is overweight and out of that, one half of them are obese. That breaks down to one of four adults, or over fifty million people, in the United States are obese. Prevalence of obesity is higher in many ethnic minorities, especially women of African, Mexican, Native American, and Pacific Islander descent.”

Check out the bariatric surgery Illinois information seminars at one of these venues and also gain knowledge on how you can change your diet to support your weight loss from surgery. There are foods that burn fat fast so if you learn what they are you can easily incorporate them into your diet. It may help you postpone the necessity of bariatric surgery Illinois