Rafael Barrera, MD, Director of the Surgical Intensive Care Unit at Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Medical Center in New York, explains how obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the US. He brings attention to the fact that even brief hospital stays can cause obese patients to become malnourished. Obese patients are quicker to become malnourished than the average patient.

Reading:

Nguyen DM, El-Serag HB. The epidemiology of obesity. Gastroenterol Clin North Am. 2010 Mar;39(1):1-7.

Pi-Sunyer X. The medical risks of obesity. Postgrad Med. 2009 Nov;121(6):21-33.

Xanthakos SA. Nutritional deficiencies in obesity and after bariatric surgery. Pediatr Clin North Am. 2009 Oct;56(5):1105-21.

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