Obesity is a common and serious health condition affecting more than 40 percent of Americans.
Dr. Daniel T. McKenna, bariatric surgeon at Aurora BayCare Medical Center participated in a Facebook Live question and answer session on bariatric surgery.
“(Obesity) affects men and women equally,” says McKenna. “It affects everything. The patient that is morbidly obese ages faster, and that’s what we see when it comes to comorbidities. They have higher incidences of Type 2 Diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, high cholesterol, gastro esophageal reflux disease, they are more likely to form hernias, they are more likely to have bad joints, bad backs, and more likely to have chronic inflammatory conditions.”
In addition to facilitating significant weight loss, bariatric surgery can help improve or even reverse many of these chronic health, McKenna says.
During the video McKenna discusses innovations in bariatric surgery, who makes a good candidate for surgery, and obesity as it relates to mortality rates and COVID-19.
Watch the discussion to learn more.