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What Is the BMI Requirement for Gastric Bypass?

The BMI requirement for gastric bypass surgery is 40 or higher or a BMI of 35 or higher combined with health problems such as diabetes or heart disease.

Not everyone who is overweight is a candidate for a gastric bypass surgery. Weighing more than one hundred pounds over your ideal or healthy body weight alone does not make you eligible for gastric bypass surgery. As gastric bypass surgery involves either an open surgery or a laparoscopy in order to bypass the stomach, small intestine and other organs, and carries the risk of serious complications, it cannot be performed on just anyone who wishes to look thinner or have a smaller waistline.

BMI Eligibility for Gastric Bypass Surgery

Doctors consider a combination of the following factors in order to determine your eligibility for a gastric bypass surgery: excess weight of one hundred or more pounds over your ideal body weight, a body mass index or BMI of 40 or higher or a BMI of 35 or higher combined with health problems such as diabetes or heart disease. ["Gastric Bypass Surgery: Who Is It for?", MayoClinic.com]

What is BMI?

It is easy to determine whether you are overweight by more than one hundred pounds, as weighing scales are widely present in many homes and doctors' offices. However, as shown by the qualifications for gastric bypass operation eligibility, it is not only the weighing scale that determines whether you can undergo this operation, but your BMI as well.

BMI is short for Body Mass Index, and it is a way to measure obesity in an individual. Obesity is the state of being grossly overweight, having an excess amount of body fat or more specifically having a body mass index or BMI of 30 or higher.

To calculate your BMI, divide your weight in kilograms by your height in meters squared. The quotient is then compared to the medical standards set for measuring obesity. ["Healthy Weight: Assessing Your Weight: BMI: About Adult BMI", cdc.gov]

A BMI of 30-39.9 is categorized as obese, while a BMI of 40 to 49.9 is categorized as morbidly obese, and a BMI of 50 or higher is categorized as super obese. [Marshall, Sciencedirect.com]

Generally, morbidly obese patients, defined as having a BMI of 40 or higher, or those who are obese or with a BMI of 35 or higher, but are suffering from weight related health problems are eligible for gastric bypass surgery.  ["Gastric Bypass Surgery: Who Is It for?", MayoClinic.com]