Non-surgical treatment is limited

Diet and Exercise are the first things to do to achieve weight loss. The concept is simple: take in fewer calories (diet) and burn more calories (exercise) so that the body needs to draw on its energy stores (fat). The more fat is burned, the more weight a person loses. Every treatment available (including surgery) works to decrease calorie intake or increase calories burned.

Just about everyone has had success losing some weight using some variety of diet and exercise, and this may be all that is needed for a person who needs to lose 20-30 pounds. Unfortunately, a person who suffers from morbid obesity (BMI >40, or more than 100 pounds overweight) has a different biology. It has been shown over and over again that non-surgical treatment helps achieve moderate weight loss in many patients, and that essentially 100% of those regain all the weight in less than two years. This weight regain is caused by the lifetime disease of obesity, and not by a lack of willpower on the part of the patient.

Here is a summary of the two-year weight outcomes from several popular diets and medications, in comparison with surgery. Note that the diet results are “best case scenarios” from research facilities where participating patients received the best possible education and support.

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