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TO RECOGNIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF GASTRIC BYPASS SURGERY FOR TREATMENT OF MORBID OBESITY BY BOARD CERTIFIED BARIATRIC SURGEONS IN SOUTH CAROLINA SURGICAL CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE.
Whereas, according to multiple scientific reports, including the 1991 National Institutes of Health (NIH) consensus report, morbid or clinically severe obesity is a serious disease and must be treated as such. Perhaps no other medical condition has been more misunderstood, mistreated, or misrepresented; and
Whereas, obesity is classified as a disease because it causes pain and suffering, may be inherited, and can cause death. Obesity is considered to be the second leading cause of preventable death in America, killing over 300,000 annually; and
Whereas, gastric bypass surgery offers significant medical advantages in addition to lasting excess weight loss. International and national outcome studies show that morbidly obese patients who suffer from high blood pressure, adult onset diabetes, sleep apnea, arthritis, and other medical conditions experience an improvement or elimination of this condition following surgery; and
Whereas, when patients over the age of eighteen who are one hundred pounds or more over their ideal body weight and when documented dietary attempts are ineffective, gastric bypass surgery is the medical recommendation for preserving life; and
Whereas, gastric bypass surgery improves health by achieving lasting weight loss that reduces life-threatening risk factors, improves self-esteem, and enhances activities of daily living. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the Senate:
That the members of the Senate, by this resolution, recognize the importance of gastric bypass surgery for treatment of morbid obesity by board certified bariatric surgeons in South Carolina surgical centers of excellence.
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