Bariatric Surgery Can Help Teens With Severe Obesity, But Many Can't Get It : Shots - Health News - NPR

She'd started to develop diabetes, and liver and joint problems before seeking bariatric surgery about a decade ago at age 18.

She'd started to develop diabetes, and liver and joint problems before seeking bariatric surgery about a decade ago at age 18.

"In her mind, it's a cheap attempt to lose weight," Northam says.

Obesity specialists, and the American Academy of Pediatrics, now strongly endorse bariatric surgery as a good option for teenagers who are struggling with severe obesity, a condition roughly defined in adults as having a basal metabolic index of 35 to 40 or higher.

"The effective treatments for severe obesity in adolescents are really just one: That is bariatric surgery," says Dr.

Also, research shows, the procedure is offered much less frequently to people of color, who disproportionately experience severe obesity and yet are less likely to be referred for treatment.

As a young person seeking bariatric surgery a decade ago, she first had to undergo about two years of extensive psychological and medical evaluations, including counseling and nutrition classes.

As a young person seeking bariatric surgery a decade ago, she first had to undergo about two years of extensive psychological and medical evaluations, including counseling and nutrition classes.

Proponents of bariatric surgery point out that its cost — about $20,000 — is far less than the cost of treating later-stage effects of obesity, which can include dialysis or heart transplant.

Cases of severe obesity continue to rise among adolescents, and the surgery is proving far more effective for this group — and longer lasting — than medication or diet and exercise alone.

The decision to have surgery became especially stark two years ago for Sarah Swisher, who at age 15, faced stage 4 liver failure brought on by severe obesity.

"That's one of the worst words to hear, especially at a young age," Swisher says.

Sarah's mother, Kay Swisher, says she recognized bariatric surgery was necessary, but it also triggered terrifying memories.

Fatima Cody Stanford, an obesity expert at Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital.

"I remember it very clearly," Stanford says.

That day, Stanford explained to Northam that obesity is widely misunderstood: "Obesity is a disease of the brain, and people don't recognize that; they think it's a disease of willpower.".

Every person's brain tends to maintain the body at a certain weight, or "set point," Stanford says.

Diets are often counterproductive for any of us, Stanford says, because they trigger the brain into thinking there's a famine, so it reacts by resetting itself to a higher set point.

Bariatric surgery, Stanford explained to Northam, can change that set point.

"Bariatric surgery is the best treatment that we have anywhere in the world for severe obesity — it drastically changes the set point in a way that nothing else does," Stanford says.

Listening to Stanford gave Northam a possible solution to a struggle that had been lifelong.

"I jumped onto her like a life raft; I had so much hope after meeting with her," Northam says.

Northam knew her mother was not in favor of the procedure, so she kept her plans mostly under wraps until just before the surgery.

"I've loved playing sports my whole life," she says, but "I just physically couldn't keep up with my peers.".

"You have to prove that one, you have the knowledge, and two, you have the drive to succeed at it," Northam says of the long wait that separated her request for the procedure and actually getting it.

Finally, at age 20, Northam got the green light, and underwent bariatric surgery.

Nevertheless, he says, overall the mental health benefits heavily favor surgery