Childhood obesity is an epidemic that’s estimated to approach 91 million world-wide by 2025. At Cook Children’s we’re committed changing that for our patients and helping adolescents with their weight loss journey. That’s why we launched our Adolescent Bariatric Surgery Program. Under the direction of pediatric surgeon, Kanika Bowen-Jallow, M.D., the program will serve patients ages 13-18 with a body mass index of 40 or greater, or 35 with two or more comorbidities. Each patient will be seen by our team of experts over a span of six months to prepare and determine when their mind and body is ready to proceed with surgery. Bariatric surgery is a serious choice for anyone - and even more so when it involves an adolescent. However, it may be the appropriate choice for kids who need to obtain a healthy weight and/or reverse serious life-threatening medical conditions, so they can be their healthiest version of themselves for years to come.

For more information please visit:

https://www.cookchildrens.org/service...