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. Tennessee has 1 practicing bariatric doctor in Crossville.

Tennessee achieved statehood in 1796, and its capital city is Nashville. Popular sites to visit include Graceland, the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, or a trip on the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway, the steepest passenger train ride in the world. Nashville is home to the famous Grand Ole Opry – but it is only one of hundreds of Nashville entertainment opportunities. Famous Tennesseans: Singers Elvis Presley, Tina Turner and Dolly Parton, Actor Morgan Freeman, and frontiersman Davy Crockett.

According to 2005 Census estimates, Tennessee has a population of 5,962,959. Of this population, 1,364,924 are under the age of 18 and 745,789 are at or above the age of 65.