About obesity

What is obesity?
The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery describes obesity as a life-long, progressive, life-threatening, costly, genetically related, multi-factorial disease of excess fat storage. And while there are several classes of obesity, a person is considered obese if he or she has a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher.

What is BMI?
BMI is a number calculated from a person's weight and height. BMI provides a reliable indicator of body fat for most people and is used to screen for weight categories that may lead to health problems. Your BMI will place you in one of the following categories:

Normal Weight (BMI 18.5 to 24.9)
Overweight (BMI 25 to 29.9)
Obese (Class I) (BMI 30 to 34.9)
Obese (Class II) (BMI 35 to 39.9 )
Morbidly Obese (Class III) (BMI 40 or more)

Calculate your BMI right now.

The obesity epidemic
If you are obese, know you're not alone. This epidemic affects millions of Americans. In fact:

• More than 65 percent of adults are overweight or obese.
• 34 percent of Americans are considered obese.
• 5 percent of Americans are considered morbidly obese.
• 325,000 obesity-related deaths occur annually.   
• Total medical cost for obesity in 2003 was $75 billion.

Obesity affects our children

• 32 percent of children are overweight.
• Children with one obese parent have a 40% chance of obesity.
• Children with two obese parents have a 70% chance of obesity.

You can make a change
Between 80 percent and 90 percent of patients experience sustained weight loss with surgical therapy. On average, bariatric surgery patients lose more than 50 percent of their excess body weight. In contrast, non-surgical therapy only helps patients shed about 5 percent of their excess body weight. Don't fight this battle alone; let the Center for Surgical Weight Management at Gwinnett Medical Center–Duluth help you or a loved one fight back against this epidemic.

For more information, please call 678-312-6200, or complete the online form, and someone will contact you.