five year diet history

Has anyone else out there been told by insurance that they must provide a five year documented diet history? I have Healthlink Open AccessIII/EPOCH and i have been informed that they require a five year documented diet history, it was explained as, five years of dieting with a dietician documenting every calorie change, weight change, etc. Isn't this a little over the top? Why not just exclude WLS? I can't see too many people having met this requirement. I wonder if a five year history including my many food journals, weight loss books, etc would suffice. Bambi

Try to find out exactly what the policy says. For instance, my bcbs of IL policy says it requires 5 year history of morbid obesity but will give individual consideration to patients who have co-morbid conditions. "A documented five-year history of morbid obesity (BMI greater than or equal to 40 kg/m squared). When medical records are requested, a letter of support and/or explanation is helpful but alone will not be considered sufficient documentation to make a medical necessity determination. Individual consideration may be given to patients who do not meet this criterion but are suffering from one or more of the co- morbid conditions noted above and these conditions are not responding to medical treatment."