The sad thing is that some of the patients probably lost 100 pounds or more. I’m guessing that some may not have lost any weight at all, which given bariatric surgery’s normal success rate and huge expense, is fairly depressing. OK. maybe all the patients did not have surgery, but a 10 pound average loss for what I assume is an obese clientele is not all that impressive.
Heh. If I were a statistician working for that company (this is assuming I am a completely amoral turd) I would absolutely include the entire weight of their dead clientele as weight loss.
A friend of mine went through gastric bypass. From what she tells me, it’s not uncommon for some people to undergo the procedure, and then treat it as a free pass to continue eating unhealthily. The procedure only works if you completely restructure your diet and eating habits. (And before you ask “So why not change your eating habits and forego the expensive and dangerous surgery?,” well, the surgery forces you to do so, and as I understand it, isn’t usually recommended unless there are other major weight-gain causes than a simply unhealthy lifestyle).
So, in short, it wouldn’t surprise me that the low number (if you do have it right) is skewed by people who let themselves regain the weight they lost through gastric bypass.
