Weight-loss surgery: Moving into new dimensions?

Bariatric surgery can dramatically improve type 2 diabetes and other risks for heart disease.

The latest statistics on obesity suggest that this disease remains a huge problem in the United States: nearly one in three American adults meet the criteria for obesity. What's more, about one in 10 women and one in 20 men are considered extremely obese (see "Obesity in the extreme").

People with extreme obesity face a high risk of cardiovascular disease and myriad other health problems, as well as a shortened life span. Most have struggled with excess weight since childhood or early adulthood, and many have undergone multiple, frustrating attempts to shed pounds. For some, weight-loss surgery (also known as bariatric surgery) may be the best—perhaps only—option for lasting weight loss.