January 28, 2015 – Comprehensive Obesity Approach

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Anchor lead: A multitude of factors need to be considered to overcome obesity, Elizabeth Tracey reports

Both obese men and women benefit from bariatric surgery, a recent study found, and that fact alone may encourage more people to undergo surgery.  But Kimberly Steele, a bariatric surgeon at Johns Hopkins, says a comprehensive look at many factors is the most likely route to success in treating obesity over the long haul.

Steele: I have patients who come to me and they will say, after surgery, I know that my stomach is full but my brain is telling me I’m hungry.  Is it psychiatric?  Well, I think there’s something happening in the brain. Is it genetic?  I think there’s a part that is genetic.  Is it conditioning? Being a part of a society where more is better?  Yes.  Is it cultural? Yes.  So I think it is a combination of multiple factors, we have to tap into those and figure it out.   :32

At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.