By Nicolette Helling & photojournalists Harry Baker & Jeff Ernewein, FOX 21 News

DULUTH - Obesity in the U.S. has been rising dramatically over the past 20 years, and in the Northland, over 24 percent of people are clinically obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"In the country I think half the people, fifty percent of the people are 30 pounds overweight or more," said Dr. Jay Lenz, a general surgeon at St. Luke's.
Dr. Lenz frequently performs weight loss surgery, usually on people who are 100 pounds overweight or more.

"So there's a lot of people that have a need for the surgery," said Lenz.
A body mass index or body fat percentage of over 30 is considered obese.
A BMI of over 40 makes you eligible for weight loss surgery.

"It's just a matter of finding the patients that desire something to be done and have failed in other attempts and have acceptable insurance for this kind of surgery," said Lenz.

At a community information session, Dr. Lenz met with potential patients to discuss gastric bypass or gastric banding operations.

If they've tried diet before without long-term success, surgery could be an option.
"You can only eat a small amount at a time," said Lenz of eating habits after surgery.

Both gastric bypass and gastric banding surgeries reduce the size of the stomach, making it basically impossible to over eat.

"The patients are just amazed how little food they get along with after the surgery," said Lenz.

The average weight loss for patients who have undergone gastric bypass or banding ranges from 50 to 65 percent of their excess body fat.

But these surgeries are not cheap.

Both options can range in price from 25 to 40 thousand dollars.

Dr. Lenz says most insurance companies will cover weight loss surgery, but patients have to work with a dietician for months before they can become eligible.

Along with high cost, there are serious risks to weight loss surgery, including death.

But for patients with life threatening health issues due to obesity, the benefits of surgery might outweigh the potential risks.

People who are clinically obese are at an increased risk for many health problems.

And that translates into increased health costs.

According to the centers for disease control and prevention, national medical expenses attributed to overweight and obesity was 92.6 billion dollars in 2002.

For more information, visit:

http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html