Who is gastric bypass surgery for?

Gastric bypass surgery is generally recommended for people who are morbidly obese (those with a body mass index of 40 or greater) and have not had success losing weight through conventional methods such as dieting, exercise and/or medications. It's also used in some instances to treat certain medical conditions that can be managed with weight loss, including Type 2 diabetes or sleep apnea.

Gastric bypass surgery works by altering the digestive process. A surgeon creates a small pouch from the upper part of your stomach that restricts how much food you can eat at once. This means you will feel full after eating very small amounts of food and may result in fewer calories consumed overall since most people don't "graze" on food throughout the day when they're full after eating only one meal or snack per day.

In addition to reducing calories, gastric bypass takes advantage of changes in hormones produced by your gut which help regulate appetite and metabolism.  Generally speaking, these hormones make it harder for our bodies to store fat and easier for us to burn fat. The combination of restricted calorie intake plus improvements in metabolic processes due to hormonal responses often results in tremendous weight loss following gastric bypass surgery—typically around 125-150 pounds over a two year period post-surgery!

Lastly, while gastric bypass has been found effective in treating morbid obesity—which includes many associated health risks such as heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes—it's important to understand that the procedure doesn’t come without risks itself such as malnutrition or vitamin deficiencies; therefore proper nutrition should become an even higher priority post-op than before!