The Bariatric Psychological Evaluation: A Heuristic for Determining the Suitability of the Morbidly Obese Patient for Weight Loss Surgery

Nonsurgical weight management strategies have been largely unsuccessful in treating and reducing the prevalence of morbid obesity. Bariatric surgery has developed into a viable and successful long-term option for the morbidly obese patient. Unfortunately, bariatric surgery does not address the psychosocial, emotional, behavioral, and lifestyle challenges that often await many patients as they move through their weight loss. Patients may expect that their weight loss journey will be hurdle-free. The prebariatric surgery psychological evaluation can help identify the risk factors that might become barriers to optimal weight loss postsurgery. Components of the assessment may include developmental history, degree of social integration, willingness to access meaningful support, past and present psychiatric history, the presence of unusual life stressors, coping skills, and psychological resources. Other variables to be assessed include the presence of significant psychological eating, the onset of obesity, mai...