BACKGROUND: It is well known that citizens of developed countries are more likely to be
overweight than they were 20 years ago. The most serious health problems are not
associated with overweight or moderate obesity, however, but with clinically severe or
morbid obesity (eg more than 100 pounds (45kg) overweight). There is no reason to expect
that morbid obesity trends parallel overweight or moderate obesity. If morbid obesity is a rare
pathological condition that has biological causes, the more than 10-fold increase in bariatric …