Whites Are Heavier Users of Weight-Loss Surgery, Study Finds

Insurance differences may explain disparity

By Robert Preidt

Monday, August 5, 2013

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MONDAY, Aug. 5 (HealthDay News) -- Obese white Americans are twice as likely as obese blacks to have weight-loss surgery, even though more black adults qualify for the procedures, a new study says.
Researchers analyzed rates of weight-loss (bariatric) surgery in the United States from 1999 to 2010 and found that 22 percent of black women and 11 percent of black men met medical eligibility guidelines for the procedure, compared with 12 percent of white women and 8 percent of white men.
However, twice as many whites as blacks underwent gastric bypass or other types of weight-loss surgery, according to the study, which was published Aug. 5 in the American Journal of Gastroenterology.
Insurance coverage appears to play a role in this discrepancy, the researchers say. They found that about 70 percent of whites had private health insurance, compared with 50 percent of blacks.
"Our new findings suggest that differences in insurance coverage are part of the reason why black Americans are less likely to have bariatric surgery, but it may not be the whole story. We need more research to look at whether cultural differences, perhaps a greater acceptance of obesity, lack of awareness of the risks or mistrust of doctors, might also be contributing," Dr. Sonia Saxena, from the School of Public Health at Imperial College London in England, said in a college news release.
People who undergo weight-loss surgery have changes made to the stomach and digestive system that restrict the amount of food they can eat.
Bariatric surgery is an effective treatment for moderate to clinically severe obesity, and it can resolve or improve diabetes and hypertension in most cases, said Arch Mainous III, from the Medical University of South Carolina, said in the news release.
"Consequently, this health disparity in treatment has implications for health care costs and morbidity due to common diseases like diabetes and hypertension, conditions that are highly prevalent in the African American community," Mainous said.

SOURCE: Imperial College London, news release, Aug. 5, 2013

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