Is bariatric surgery worth it?

A recent study shows that bariatric surgery does not cut patients’ medical costs over the following six years after surgery.

According to The Los Angeles Times, a report released on Wednesday states that approximately 30,000 Americans who received one or two forms of bariatric surgery, were compared to those who were obese but decided against surgery.

Now, when taking out the amount of the procedure which was about $20,000-$25,000, and the long term expenses over approximately six years, the patients who had the surgery were at about the same amount of money in healthcare expenses as those who did not have the surgery.

Reuters claims that there is one limitation in the study, which was that only 7 percent, a rather small portion, of patients were tracked for a full six years. The others had their weight loss procedures performed more recently.

Although bariatric surgery can cure things like diabetes and obesity, it may not be cost effective or “worth it” for everyone who is considered obese.

The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery stated that about 200,000 people receive weight loss surgery each year.