In the past 30 years, the prevalence of overweight among pediatric age groups in the United States has almost tripled. Current conservative estimates indicate that 15.5% of children and adolescents are obese. Rates of obesity among youth are on the rise. Bariatric surgery can be a consideration as a treatment option for those adolescents who have developed extreme obesity. Experts in pediatric obesity and bariatric surgery recommend that surgical treatment only be considered when adolescents have tried for at least six months to lose weight and have not been successful.
Candidates should be extremely obese, have reached their adult height (usually 13 or older for girls and 15 or older for boys), and have serious weight-related health problems. These problems can consist of type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, hypertension or heart disease.
Over the past few years, gastric bypass surgery has been the predominant operation used to treat adolescent extreme obesity. An estimated 2,700 adolescent bariatric surgeries were performed between 1996 and 2003.
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