B.C. doctors call for more bariatric surgery resources at annual obesity conference

Bariatric surgery was the main topic of discussion at the seventh annual B.C. Obesity Summit at the University of British Columbia on Saturday where physicians gathered to discuss battling the bulge. 

Many of the doctors at the conference agreed that the surgery, which removes up to 80 per cent of a person's stomach, is the most effective weight-loss method. Yet there are only two hospitals in B.C. that offer it. 

"For many patients it's the only solution to lose weight," said endocrinologist and UBC medicine professor Dr. Jordanna Kapeluto.

Patients in B.C. wait up to 34 months for the surgery, according to the B.C. Obesity Society. Doctors at the conference called for more resources to increase the number of surgeries that can be performed. 

The society says excess weight is related to diseases like diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, sleep apnea, depression, osteoarthritis and cancer. 

"It's one of the largest epidemics in the province," said the society's president, Dr. Sharadh Sampath, at the conference. 

400 surgeries per year

The surgery is covered by provincial health care, Sampath said, but wait times mean people have limited access to it compared to other provinces.

B.C. only performs 400 bariatric surgeries a year, he said, whereas provinces like Quebec and Ontario are performing three to five times as many surgeries per capita.

Out of all the provinces and territories in Canada, B.C. has the lowest rates of obesity, according to Statistics Canada — 22 per cent versus highs of 38 per cent in New Brunswick and Newfoundland.

But doctors like Kapeluto warn that while rates of the disease may be lower in urban centres like Metro Vancouver, they're much higher in rural areas.

Kapeluto says obesity rates are as low as nine per cent in Metro Vancouver, but climb to up to 20 per cent in northern B.C. and the Okanagan.