The American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) is a non-profit medical organization dedicated to metabolic and

bariatric surgery Bariatric surgery (or weight loss surgery) includes a variety of procedures performed on people who are obese. Long term weight loss through the standard of care procedures ( Roux en-Y bypass, sleeve gastrectomy, and biliopancreatic diversion ...

, and

obesity Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's we ...

-related diseases and conditions. It was established in 1983, and its stated vision is “to improve the public health and well being of society by lessening the burden of obesity and obesity-related diseases throughout the world.”

Mission

The ASMBS, as part of its mission statement, says it is “committed to educating

health professionals A health professional, healthcare professional, or healthcare worker (sometimes abbreviated HCW) is a provider of health care treatment and advice based on formal training and experience. The field includes those who work as a nurse, physician (suc ...

and the lay public about metabolic and bariatric surgery as an option for the treatment of obesity and

morbid obesity Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's we ...

and improving the care and treatment of people with obesity and obesity-related diseases and conditions.” This surgical specialty organization says it “encourages its members to investigate and discover new advances in metabolic and bariatric surgery, while maintaining a steady exchange of experiences and ideas that may lead to improved patient outcomes.” In 2012, the ASMBS had approximately 4,000 members, which includes

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...

s, bariatricians,

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...

dietitian A dietitian, medical dietitian, or dietician is an expert in identifying and treating disease-related malnutrition and in conducting medical nutrition therapy, for example designing an enteral tube feeding regimen or mitigating the effects of ca ...

s, and other medical specialists focused on the disease of obesity. The ASMBS is also an advocate for

healthcare policy Health policy can be defined as the "decisions, plans, and actions that are undertaken to achieve specific healthcare goals within a society".World Health Organization''Health Policy'' accessed 22 March 2011(Web archive)/ref> According to the ...

to promote patient access to high quality

prevention Prevention may refer to: Health and medicine * Preventive healthcare, measures to prevent diseases or injuries rather than curing them or treating their symptoms General safety * Crime prevention, the attempt to reduce deter crime and crimi ...

and treatment of obesity.

History

The ASMBS was established in 1983. Its founding president was

Edward Eaton Mason Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sax ...

, MD, a surgeon who is considered the "father" of bariatric or obesity surgery. On August 15, 2007, the ASBS changed its name to the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) to reflect mounting clinical evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of surgery on

metabolic diseases Inborn errors of metabolism form a large class of genetic diseases involving congenital disorders of enzyme activities. The majority are due to defects of single genes that code for enzymes that facilitate conversion of various substances ( substra ...

, particularly

type 2 diabetes Type 2 diabetes, formerly known as adult-onset diabetes, is a form of diabetes mellitus that is characterized by high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and relative lack of insulin. Common symptoms include increased thirst, frequent urinatio ...

, in addition to its effectiveness on obesity and morbid obesity.

Programs

The ASMBS has held 29 annual scientific meetings. In 2013, the ASMBS and The Obesity Society (TOS) combined their respective annual meetings for "ObesityWeek," which was held from November 11 to November 16, 2013 in Atlanta, Georgia. The scientific and educational conference drew clinicians and

scientists A scientist is a person who conducts scientific research to advance knowledge in an area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engaged in the philosophica ...

from all over the world to review and discuss new data on the full spectrum of the disease of obesity. In 2006,

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), is a federal agency within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that administers the Medicare program and works in partnership with state governments to administer M ...

(CMS) established a national coverage policy for bariatric/metabolic surgery to help reduce health risks associated with obesity, including death and disability, as long as the procedures were performed at facilities certified by the AMBS or the American College of Surgeons. In 2012, the ACS and ASMBS announced plans to combine their respective national bariatric surgery

accreditation Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

programs into a single unified program to achieve one national accreditation standard for bariatric surgery centers. More than 750 facilities are now enrolled in the program called Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program MBSAQIP) in the United States.

Certified Bariatric Nurse (CBN) Program

The ASMBS Certified Bariatric Nurse (CBN)] program was established in June 2007. Certification indicates nurses have met all testing requirements and have proven to be competent in the care of obese and bariatric surgery patients.

References

External links

ASMBS Home PageSurgery for Obesity and Related Diseases (SOARD) Official Journal of the ASMBS
{{DEFAULTSORT:American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Surgical organizations based in the United States Bariatrics Medical and health organizations based in Florida