RT Book, Section
A1 Schirmer, Bruce
A1 Hallowell, Peter
A2 Zinner, Michael J.
A2 Ashley, Stanley W.
SR Print(0)
ID 57012175
T1 Chapter 27. Morbid Obesity and Its Surgical Treatment
T2 Maingot's Abdominal Operations, 12e
YR 2013
FD 2013
PB The McGraw-Hill Companies
PP New York, NY
SN 978-0-07-163388-8
LK accesssurgery.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=57012175
RD 2024/04/20
AB Obesity  looms  as  the  single  largest  threat  to  world  health  in  the  next  few  decades.  In  countries  such  as  the  United  States,  its  consequences  pose  the  very  real  likelihood  that  the  next  generation  may  not  live  longer  or  be  more  healthier  than  the  previous  one.1  This  would  reverse  a  trend  that  has  been  present  for  centuries.  The  rate  of  obesity  is  rising  worldwide,  not  just  in  countries  that  enjoy  privileged  economic  status.  The  rise  in  obesity  over  the  past  25  years  in  the  United  States  has  been  dramatic.  Currently  nearly  one-third  of  adults  in  the  United  States  are  obese,  defined  as  having  a  body  mass  index  (BMI,  calculated  as  being  weight  in  kg  divided  by  height  in  meters  squared)  of  30  kg/m2  or  greater.2  More  concerning  yet,  the  rate  of  obesity  in  young  adolescents  and  teenagers  is  approaching  or  exceeding  the  adult  rate  in  many  geographic  areas.  Because  obese  adolescents  have  a  very  high  likelihood  of  being  obese  adults,  this  predicts  that  the  problem  will  continue  to  grow  in  terms  of  its  consequences  on  the  health  of  the  population.