Ask any bariatric surgeon whether gastric bypass surgery reduces a patient\'s risk of early death and he will tell you without hesitation that it does. Indeed, he will probably be surprised that you are posing the question at all since surgeons have known for many years that weight loss surgery extends patients\' lives.



However, put that same question to a number of insurance companies and you may well get a very different answer because, until now, although there has been plenty of anecdotal evidence for what we all know to be the position, there has not been any hard, concrete scientific proof.





Today however the results of two studies have clearly shown in numerical terms that gastric bypass surgery has a marked effect on the mortality of those concerned.



In the first, a multi-center US study involving 16,000 patients followed for 7 years, long-term mortality fell by as much as 40 percent. At the same time a second Swedish study involving some 4,000 patients showed a 29 percent fall in mortality.



Insurance companies have sought for many years now to put obstacles in the path of patients to prevent them from claiming for weight loss surgery and this has been gaining momentum recently as the number of obesity surgeries being undertaken has climbed dramatically and weight loss surgery has gained greater acceptance with a number of celebrities such as Al Rocker, Carnie Wilson, Star Jones and others undergoing obesity surgery.



The insurance companies however have stuck rigidly to the position that gastric bypass surgery ought only to be used as the option of last resort and that every possible attempt to lose weight through exercise and diet, including if needed the use of medication, must be exhausted before weight loss surgery can be approved. additionally, they have also stuck to the line that gastric bypass surgery should only finally be carried out if weight presents a risk to life.



For most people this position by the insurance companies is seen as being quite ridiculous and a position which has clearly been adopted simply to save the insurance company money. Nevertheless, despite this view, the insurance companies have been able to get away with this for many years now because it has not been possible to show in terms of facts and figures that gastric bypass surgery is not just a convenient and relatively easy way to lose weight but is the only option open to many sufferers and an option that will not only improve their quality of life but literally extend their lives, frequently quite significantly.



For many years now overweight individuals have fought with their weight and, although some people have had very limited success, most people (and certainly those who are faced with losing more than 80 pounds) have discovered that exercise and diet simply does not work. However, they have had no choice and doctors have been forced to lead them down this road because of the stance of the insurance companies.



It is to be hoped that now at long last the insurance companies are going to be forced to meet their responsibility in this area and at long last put the needs of their policyholders above those of their shareholders.