Health Controversy: People Gaining Weight for Lap-Band Surgery

News reports this week describe a troubling trend: possible candidates for the Lap-Band weight-loss surgery are putting on more pounds in order to qualify for the procedure.

According to a report on MSNBC, Elizabeth Marks, 32, was turned down for surgery once by her insurance company for being less than 100 pounds overweight, but accepted after she gained more. “I just had two weeks of eating all the junk I could,” Mark said.

Others, like a woman in Washington state, have gorged themselves with chips, cookies, pizza and fried chicken to gain the final weight to qualify for the surgery.

A recent FDA decision approved the use of Lap-Band in patients with BMIs as low as 30 with at least one weight-related disease, such as high blood pressure. More than 27 million people will now qualify for the surgery. Insurers may prefer less risky procedures as alternatives before the surgery is considered.

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