Doctors look to bariatric surgery to treat obese youth

Concerns over youth obesity are spurring interest in bariatric surgery for teens.

Bariatric surgery is a variety of procedures that includes gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy and laparoscopic gastric banding, commonly know as lap band.

While some studies suggest bariatric surgery can be effective in treating obese teens, experts worry that in certain cases, it can cause irreparable harm to developing bodies and minds.

Dr. Jill Hamilton of Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children says there are a lot of unknowns about the long-term outcomes in adolescents and what makes a good candidate for surgery.

Hamilton heads the country's only hospital-based weight-loss program offering bariatric surgery for minors.

She says the program admits 50 patients a year, but only one in 10 is approved for surgery.

She says in many cases, young patients aren't ready to handle the massive changes involved.

The surgery forces people to permanently give up pop, caffeine and several other habitsa difficult sell at an age focused on experimentation.

Hamilton says others may obsess over their food intake and develop an eating disorder.

But she says demand from teens for the surgery far outpaces the availability, at least when it comes to hospital-based, government-funded treatment.