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Weight loss surgery is only an option for people who meet criteria set by NICE (National Institute of Clinical Excellence):

1. Your BMI is greater than 40 or if you have associated health problems such as diabetes, sleep apnoea or high blood pressure and a BMI greater than 35.
   
2. You are over 18 years old.
   
3. You have adequately tried all appropriate and available non-surgical measures of weight reduction such as dieting or drug therapy and have failed to maintain weight loss.
   
4. You understand the need for long-term follow-ups after surgery.

Will weight loss surgery benefit me?
If your BMI score is 35 or over and you have other health problems such as diabetes, sleep apnoea or high blood pressure, it is likely that surgery will be beneficial.  Sleep apnoea and respiratory problems are either cured or markedly improved after surgery.  Weight loss surgery has also been reported to improve several other comorbid conditions including diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure and serum lipid abnormalities (high cholesterol and triglycerides).

As a general rule of thumb, a man will have increased risk of associated health conditions if his waist is 40 inches or more and a woman of 35 inches or more.  The Asian population are known to have an increased risk of these conditions at a lower BMI score (approximately 2 points below) compared with the non-asian population.

If you have none of these conditions then surgery may not be appropriate unless your BMI is 40 or over.