Equity in Digestive Health Improving equity and access to bariatric surgery

In the USA, the prevalence of obesity among children, adolescents, and adults has steadily increased decade after decade. Between 1999 and 2020, the prevalence of obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2) among US adults aged 20 years or older increased from 30·5% to 41·9%, with the prevalence of severe obesity (BMI ≥40 kg/m2) rising from 4·7% to 9·2% during the same interval. 1 Stierman B Afful J Carroll MD et al. National health and nutrition examination survey 2017–March 2020 prepandemic files—development of files and prevalence estimates for selected health outcomes. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr158-508.pdfDate: June 14, 2021 Date accessed: May 23, 2023 Google Scholar Globally, the prevalence of obesity has also increased among adults—from 8·7% in 2000 to 13·1% in 2016. 2 WHOWorld health statistics 2023: monitoring health for the SDGs, sustainable development goals. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240074323Date: May 19, 2023 Date accessed: May 23, 2023 Google Scholar Bariatric surgery is the most effective treatment for obesity and its associated comorbid conditions. Yet, despite the increased prevalence of obesity, the number of bariatric procedures performed represents only a small fraction of the estimated more than 650 million people with obesity. 3 Brown WA Shikora S Liem R et al. 7th IFSO global registry report 2022. https://www.ifso.com/pdf/ifso-7th-registry-report-2022.pdfDate accessed: May 23, 2023 Google Scholar