This type of weight loss program may be right for you if you are chronically 100 pounds over your ideal weight and also have at least one obesity-related disease.

Obesity is a lifelong disease and is best treated by a Center that can provide you with many different treatment options plus long-term follow-up treatment. Visit Centers you are considering to see if the facility is clean and the staff friendly and knowledgeable. Check pricing. Use the Internet to research the Center's outcomes.

Also know what you are shopping for: surgery, or no surgery? You want to choose a Center that offers this option if you know or suspect you will consider surgery at some point in your weight loss program. There are several types of surgery aimed at helping patients eat less food by creating a smaller stomach.

Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery involves separating the stomach into one small part and a larger part. The small part of the stomach functions as a food pouch and conducts food directly into the small intestine. The larger part of the stomach is then bypassed and not used to process food. This procedure can be done with a large incision or laproscopically to reduce pain and recovery time. A laparoscope is a viewing tube the surgeon inserts through a band-aid size hole to see what they are doing. Other instruments are inserted through the same hole or other holes. The surgeon uses these instruments and the viewing tube to perform the surgery and see what he is doing.

Another type of surgery is called lacroscopic adjustable gastric band surgery. An adjustable band is placed around the patient's stomach to form the small food pouch.

Other tips on how to choose a bariatric weight loss center include: