Bariatric medicine deals with the causes, prevention and treatment of obesity. A bariatric medicine physician, or bariatrician, may treat patients with diet and nutrition, exercise, behavior modification or medication. The bariatrician may also coordinate patient care with a bariatric surgeon, who may perform surgery. Bariatric or gastric bypass surgery, also known as roux-en-Y gastric bypass, creates a small pouch of the stomach that bypasses part of the intestine. When the size of the stomach is reduced by surgery, it allows less food to be ingested, resulting in weight loss.

Obesity is damaging to one’s health: some of the negative effects of obesity are heart disease, diabetes, some forms of cancer, hypertension, asthma, obstructive sleep apnea, arthritis; and obesity has been known to shorten one’s lifespan.

Doctor density varies by specialty and location. The United States has 23 practicing bariatric doctors. Broken out by state, bariatric medicine doctor density in Alabama is 1, in Arizona is 4, in California is 8, in Georgia is 1, in Illinois is 2, in Michigan is 1, in Missouri is 1, in Montana is 2, in New York is 1, in North Carolina is 1, in Ohio is 1, in Oklahoma is 1, in Pennsylvania is 3, in South Carolina is 1, in Tennessee is 3, in Texas is 5, and in Washington is 1.