Ukmedix has noted that from recent reports that the amount of weight loss surgery is on the increase and there has been almost a sixfold rise in the gastric bypass weight loss procedures in the United States between the years 1998 and 2002. The statistics show that fourteen thousand gastric bypass surgeries were undertaken  in 1998 and almost 83,000 were performed in 2002. This is a remarkable increase and it shows no signs of slowing down due to the huge obesity problem in the United States.

A reason for the increased popularity of the surgery is that the FDA formally approved a new weight loss surgery called laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding. This type of procedure is less invasive than normal gastric bypass and the patient recovers more quickly. Weight loss surgery used to be only a very extreme method of weight loss but it is being utilised more and more these days. Obese people with type 2 diabetes find themselves much better after a the surgery and their health become much improved.

The arguments in favour of the surgery is that it doesn't just cure the obesity but also all the obesity related diseases that the patient is suffering from or is likely to contract in the near future. Examples include heart failure, atherosclerosis, liver disease, cancer, hypertension. While there are health risks involved with surgery they are easily outweighed by the advantages that the surgery will bring.

The vast majority of gastric surgeries were carried out on women (in fact about 4 out every 5) and the statistis show that one in five gastric surgery patients had type 2 diabetes. Interestingly however it was the men that were more likely to suffer from diabetes in fact 30% of male gastric surgery patients had diabetes compared to only 17% in women. Another very frequently occuring disease in gastric bypass patients was chronic pulmonary disease being present in 14% of females and 4% of males.