Do I qualify for surgery?- NICE guidelines and BMI calculator

NICE Guidelines (National Institute for Clinical Excellence)

The NHS doesn’t routinely fund bariatric surgery for anyone who requests it. Patients will usually have to meet a list of conditions to qualify. Often the Primary Care Trusts or PCTs (who fund the operations) will refer to the “NICE guidelines”. These are recommendations set out by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence.

There are several recommendations but we have included the most commonly requested here. Before checking, you will need to know your body mass index or BMI. The BMI is one methods of assessing how overweight you may be. It considers your weight in relationship to your height and helps to describe the degree of your obesity. We have provided a calculator to help your to calculate your own BMI.

You will need to have:-

• A BMI of 40

Or

• A BMI of 35 if you also have a condition made worse by obesity. This might include diabetes, high blood pressure, heart problems or severe joint problems.
• You will be expected to have tried all other alternatives (including diets, drug treatments or even counselling) for a minimum of 6 months.
• You may be required to have attended a specialist NHS obesity clinic for at least a year.
• You will need to be assessed as fit enough for the operation and general anaesthetic. You must be aware of the risks of complications.
• You must understand the need for long term follow up and be committed to changing your lifestyle.

BMI

Body Mass Index (BMI) describes a person’s body weight relative to their height and correlates strongly with the body fat content. It is the primary indictor used by bariatric surgeons to assess a patient’s suitability for surgery and to monitor post-operative weight loss.

BMI is calculated by dividing a person’s weight (kg) by their height squared (m²).

For example, a patient weighing 150kg with a height of 1.70m:

BMI =150kg/1.70m² = 51.9kg/m²

BMI is also used to define thresholds of weight:

* Including hypertension, diabetes, osteoarthritis, obstructive sleep apnoea and cardiovascular disease