CBS News Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton, who conducted a year of obesity surgery research in her career, said on “The Early Show” she’s not surprised by the new guidelines.

She explained, “(The guidelines) have to do with the criteria under which patients are eligible for obesity surgery. In the past, if patients needed to be obese with a BMI or body mass index of 35 to 40. Now, they’ve lessened that number so they’re including patients with a body mass index of 30 to 40, with one other obesity-related illness like diabetes or high blood pressure, thereby including an additional 26 million people under the potential surgical candidates’ category.”

But Ashton advised any time you consider surgery, there are risks and benefits.

Read more:  http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/02/18/earlyshow/main20033327.shtml