Follow the money on gastric bypass research

When it comes to your health, it's best not to take shortcuts. But in our quick-fix culture, everyone is always looking for the "magic bullet" to eliminate health issues. Nowhere is this more evident than with the dangerous practice of gastric bypass surgery.

Forget healthy eating and physical activity—just cut all your cares away with one simple procedure! The problem is, in spite of its popularity, gastric bypass surgery can be deadly.

Unfortunately, a new study just came out that I'm afraid will be putting more and more people with weight problems under the knife – not because of the perceived health benefits, but because of the cost effectiveness of the surgery.

According to a new study published in The American Journal of Managed Care, bariatric surgery can "pay for itself" by reducing the number of insurance claims filed by people with morbid obesity. The study claims that insurance companies can recoup the cost of these surgeries – which range from $17,000 to $26,000 per patient – in two to four years.

But if you ask me, the legitimacy of this so-called study is immediately suspect. Why? Becauseit was funded by Johnson & Johnson's Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. – a major manufacturer of bariatric surgical instruments. Obviously, this company stands to make a HUGE profit if insurance companies start to cover the cost for bariatric surgeries. Has my "follow the money" principal ever been more nakedly obvious?

Of course, the study's lead author, Pierre-Yves Cremieux, claims that the basics of his study were conducted prior to J&J coming up with financial backing. But pardon me if I'm skeptical to the point of thinking that this is complete and utter nonsense.

Case in point: the study's co-author is Dr. Scott Shikora, the president of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. Think that the members of Dr. Shikora's organization could stand to make a couple of extra bucks if this the results of this "study" catch on in the insurance industry?

"Bariatric surgery is a unique field in that with one operation you can cure a wide range of different health conditions," said Shikora. "This paper demonstrated that you can do that and actually save money in the process."

Lost in all this price-taggery on human health is the simple fact that these bariatric surgeries can kill you – as many as five percent of patients that undergo these procedures are dead within a year. And just in case you think five percent is a low number, consider this: in 2007 alone, more than 205,000 people had gastric bypass surgery. That means about 10,250 of those people will die sometime this year.

But hey, at least the insurance companies will get to keep a higher percentage of those premiums, right?

While insurers generally cover the costs of bariatric procedure, Shikora – the allegedly objective co-author of this study – claims that managed care companies put up "obstacles" to avoid paying for this pricey surgery. For example, many insurers require that candidates for bariatric surgery undergo a six-month, doctor-supervised weight loss program before approving the operation. All this despite the fact that the patients have already tried "every pill and every weight loss program out there," Shikora said.

"Obstacles?" It'd call it common sense. Shouldn't major surgery always be a last resort? Everyone thinks so – except for the ones in the business of performing those major surgeries. People like Shikora would prefer that patients go right from the dining room table to his operating table.

"Obesity is a disease, it's not just a choice or an eating affliction," Shikora said. "It is a genetic disease, and I don't feel that the morbidly obese patient should be treated any differently than a patient with breast cancer, HIV, or other ailments."

Not only are Shikora's views nakedly biased, they're biased for the worst possible reason: money. He stands to profit immensely from the results of this so-called study, and his nauseating defense of the "results" of this utterly sickening study just underscores everything that's wrong with "sponsored" studies.