Weight Loss Surgery Fun Facts
More than 9 Times as Many Went Under Knife to Lose Weight in 2004 vs. 1998
Weight loss surgery is soaring in the U.S., especially among baby boomers and women, a government report shows. In 1998 there were 13,386 bariatric surgeries performed on people of all ages. That figure rose to 121,055 in 2004.Boomers Lead Trend
The fastest growth in bariatric surgery was among people aged 55-64, but younger adults and teens also became more likely to opt for it. Bariatric surgery was 20 times more common among people aged 55-64 in 2004 than six years earlier (772 surgeries in 1998; about 15,800 in 2004). People 45-54 had more than a tenfold increase in bariatric surgeries, rising from 3,320 in 1998 to about 35,900 in 2004. Meanwhile, weight loss surgery grew sixfold in adults 18-44 during the years studied.
Men, Women Getting Weight Loss Surgery
Bariatric surgery increased for both sexes but was more common among women. Women accounted for about eight in 10 bariatric surgery patients in 2004, the study shows. The number of bariatric surgeries performed on men rose more than eight times higher during the years studied, from 2,527 in 1998 to nearly 21,000 in 2004. Bariatric surgeries performed on women increased more than nine times, from nearly 10,860 in 1998 to about 99,300 in 2004.
Weight Loss Surgery Safer
Bariatric surgery can have complications, but the report shows a drop in the hospital inpatient death rate. In 2004, only 230 patients out of the 121,055 surgeries died in hospital stays in which bariatric surgery was performed, down nearly 80% from 1998, according to the report.
Sorry, this stuff just comes to me and I can't hold it all inside.
it is amazing,...... 
