Calculate Your BMI

Use the calculator below to find your Body Mass Index.

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Body Mass Index

According to the Panel on Energy, Obesity, and Body Weight Standards published by American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, your category is:

Your Body Mass Index (BMI) is an estimation of body fat based on your height and weight. As a person's BMI increases, so does the risk of developing obesity related diseases such as diabetes.

Gastric Banding and BMI

Bariatric surgery has historically been utilized as a weight loss solution for patients with a Body Mass Index or BMI of 35 or greater. More recent evidence strongly suggests that weight loss surgery is an effective option for those people who are overweight but have not yet reached a BMI above 35. Individuals with a BMI of 30 - 35 suffer a disproportionately high incidence of hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, heart disease, obstructive sleep apnea and degenerative joint disease, and they will experienced a shortened lifespan if a healthier, lower weight is not achieved. The science indicates that a person with a BMI of 30 or greater will enjoy a significant health improvement as a result of LapBand surgery and even moderate weight loss.

Lap Band surgery as preventative medicine

Preventing the onset of diseases like diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea or hypertension usually centers around behavior modification such as improved eating habits and exercise, and those are of course important components of any weight loss program. However, there does appear to be a valuable role for weight loss surgery as a preventative procedure. People who need to lose 40 to 60 pounds can do so successfully before they have developed many of the most severe obesity related health conditions. The use of gastric banding to help an individual lose weight and control their weight and thus prevent disease may be a prudent choice as opposed to waiting until the diseases have become fully manifest and are already requiring medical treatment just to manage them.

This idea may run counter to most people's notion of what preventive interventions consist of. Nonetheless, the most modern and up-to-date studies strongly support this approach with LapBand surgery, and if you or a loved one are in the range of 40 to 50 pounds overweight and have a BMI between 30 and 35, then you then you will want to look at what interventions are likely to be most successful at helping you live a longer and healthier life (not to mention feel better and feel more energetic). You also have to look at what you can do to prevent the onset of diabetes, which is highly likely to occur at that BMI, given enough time. Then I think it makes sense to examine the risks associated with any intervention and invasiveness.

I have taken the approach that laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding is of such low invasiveness that it does make a great deal of sense as a disease prevention tool. Our protocol has not included laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy or Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery. In the future this may change, but right now the risk/benefit analysis in my view favors making available the option of gastric banding with either the Lap-Band or Realize Band. This is the least invasive weight loss surgical option for this low BMI group of 30 to 35. Read our Low-BMI Gastric Banding study application

Weight Loss surgery with a BMI below 35 won't qualify for insurance coverage

Typically insurance plans are less receptive to reimbursing for low Body Mass Index weight loss surgery. As result, most people with a BMI under 35 who are looking for weight loss surgery must find a way to cover the cost on their own. This has become somewhat easier with using the financing program that we have developed, and payments begin at $249 per month for LapBand surgery. In this program, individuals undergoing the procedure by Dr. Sasse will also have coverage for most of the potential complications that could occur after surgery. This is highly important because it allows a person to have a clear expectation of what the costs are and not run into unexpected financial expenses after surgery. This insurance type coverage for complications is provided through the BLIS Corporation and covers a vast majority of potential problems or complications. If you are comparing price at different centers, make sure you factor in this complications protection benefit. And make sure you factor in the experience and success of your surgeon!