Recently, the NICE body in the UK updated its weight loss surgery criteria and recommended that health professionals should consider an assessment for BS for people with a BMI of 30–34.9 kg/m2 who have recent-onset type 2 diabetes (NICE, …show more content…
Indeed, in 2008, 344,221 procedures were performed worldwide, with 220,000 of these surgeries being performed in the USA and Canada (Buchwald and Oien, 2009). A similar number was recorded for the year 2011 as well. More specifically, the total global number of BS procedures performed during that year was 340,768 (Buchwald and Oien, 2013).
It is therefore not surprising that BS is becoming one of the most popular weight loss interventions, especially among the female population. A recent report concluded that in the USA alone, the incidence of BS increased by 800% in 7 years. The same study identified that in those 7 years around 83% of the weight loss surgeries performed in the 18-45 year age group was performed on women, highlighting how popular this surgery is among females. Indeed, during 2005-2008, 150,000 women of childbearing age were reported to have undergone the procedure (Maggard et al. 2008). Moreover, it was estimated that around 100,000 surgeries were carried out in the USA in 2004 alone, with more than half being performed on women of reproductive age (Wax et al.,