Weight Loss Surgery May Help Less Severely Obese

FRIDAY, Dec. 21 (HealthDay News) --The morbidly obese may not bethe only people who should be eligible for bariatric surgery to loseweight, U.S. researchers report.
People with a body-mass index (BMI) less than the required 40 couldstill reap heart health benefits from the surgery, they say.
BMI is calculated based on height and weight. A healthy BMI rangesbetween 18.5 and 25. A person with a BMI of 40 -- for example, someone 5feet 9 inches tall and 270 pounds -- is considered morbidly obese.According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in threeadults is obese.
Bariatric surgery options include gastric bypass and lap bandsurgeries. Typically, a person must have a BMI of 40, or be at least 100pounds over their healthy weight, to qualify for these surgeries. Peoplewho have a BMI greater than 35 and suffer from a life-threatening illness,such as non-insulin dependent diabetes, sleep apnea or heart disease, canalso qualify.
However, researchers at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centerat Dallas published data in the December issue of Surgery for Obesityand Related Diseases suggesting that some otherwise healthy overweightpeople with a BMI lower than 40 may benefit. And they may benefit morefrom the surgery than people who are morbidly obese, the team added.
The study is among the first to evaluate the risk-factor relationshipbetween BMI and cardiovascular disease as it relates to bariatric surgerycriteria, said study author Dr. Edward Livingston, chairman ofGI/endocrine surgery at UT Southwestern.
"Our results show that cardiovascular risk factors do not necessarilyworsen with increasing obesity," Livingston said in a prepared statement."They also support the concept that obesity, by itself, doesn't trigger anadverse cardiovascular risk profile or increased risk of death."
The research team analyzed health data from more than 17,200 adults whohad a BMI greater than 20 and had participated in the Third NationalHealth and Nutrition Examination. The researchers assessed their heartdisease risk factors with respect to their BMI. They found a subgroup ofpeople whose BMIs were lower than 40 but who had significant heart diseaserisk factors.
This suggests that some patients who are obese but not morbidly obesecould benefit from bariatric surgery, which can help reduce cardiovasculardisease, said Livingston.
The research team theorized that some morbidly obese people may be moreefficient than moderately overweight people at storing fat in their cells,so it does not have as great an effect on the cardiovascular system.