Facts About Obesity

Did you know that by losing just 5 to 10 percent of your total body weight, you can bring about significant health gains?

Gains including:

• Lowered blood pressure
• Reduced cholesterol levels
• Reduced risk of type 2 (adult onset) diabetes
• Less chance of stroke
• Decreased complications from heart disease
• Reduced overall mortality

“These operations and the weight loss that comes with them have amazing and almost instant dramatic and rapid results,” says Gary Korus, MD, bariatric surgeon at Penn. “We see a change in some medications within days of surgery. Some of our patients report they were given the ‘okay’ to stop taking certain medications very early in their weight-loss journey.”

Facts About Obesity and Weight Loss in America

Obesity in America is a growing epidemic. Did you know?

• The normal amount of body fat is between 25 and 30 percent in women and 18 and 23 percent in men. Women with more than 30 percent body fat and men with more than 25 percent body fat are considered obese.
• More than a third of U.S. adults — over 72 million people — are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In a study recently released, the rate of obesity in adults in the United States is expected to reach 42 percent by the year 2030. If obesity rates remained stable, instead of increasing, $550 billion could be saved in healthcare expenses over the next 20 years.
• Morbid obesity is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of more than 40. For men that equates to approximately 100 pounds overweight for women, 80 pounds overweight.
• Severely obese women may experience infertility and pregnancy problems, polycystic ovary syndrome and sexual dysfunction.
• In the United States, roughly 300,000 deaths per year are directly related to obesity, and more than 80 percent of these deaths are in patients with a BMI over 30. For patients with a BMI over 40, life expectancy is reduced by as much as 20 years for men and five years for women.
• According to the CDC, 17 percent of U.S. children are obese.

The most common causes of obesity are overeating and physical inactivity. Other factors that can
contribute to obesity include:

• Genetics (such as leptin deficiency)
• Slow metabolism
• Medications
• Psychological factors
• Diseases (hypothyroidism, Cushing syndrome)
• Ethnicity
• Childhood weight

The Penn Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery team understands that, for many people, the decision to have weight-loss surgery can be a difficult one. That is why the Penn Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Program is committed to providing prospective and current patients with all the information they need to make informed choices.

Bariatric surgery is not about improving physical appearance, it's about improving overall health.

Clinically severe (morbid) obesity is a chronic disease that can cause a host of health problems and shorten a person's life.

Bariatric surgery offers a way to sustain weight loss and improve obesity-related medical conditions.

Get more information about weight-loss surgery at Penn

Learn if bariatric surgery is right for you by attending a free information session about the Penn
Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Program.

At this free session, you will learn more about weight-loss surgery at Penn, and meet physicians and team members from the Penn Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Program.

Register for this free event here.