Clinical Nutrition in Gastrointestinal Disease

Sixty-four percent of adults in the United States are obese.¹ Almost 5% or 14 to 16 million adult Americans are extremely (morbidly) obese, which is defined as a body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to 40 kg/ m².² Twenty-three million adults have a BMI ≥35 kg/m². Comorbid conditions that are associated with overweight and obesity are numerous and include type 2 diabetes mellitus, obstructive sleep apnea, hyperlipidemia, hyper-tension, degenerative joint disease, and asthma (Table 53-1). The surgical management of morbid obesity (bariatric surgery) has become the fastest…