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It is estimated by BestDietForMe.com that 800,000 Americans per year are served by bariatricians. So, they are significant players in the medically supervised weight loss programs arena.  First, a bariatrician must be a state-licensed physician.

He/she then specializes in bariatrics. They do not have to be a member of the ASBP in order to practice. Since they use diet drugs as part of their treatment regimen, they must obtain a DEA certificate (The Federal Drug Enforcement Admin. registers and approves such medications).

Bariatricians do not necessarily perform bariatric surgery, such as a gastric bypass. Some, but not all, are bariatric surgeons. Rather, they may use liquid diet supplements, or prescription diet drugs such as phentermine, Meridia or Xenical, combined with counseling, a healthy diet, and a structured medically supervised program.

The ASBP reports that 70% of its members have a primary focus in such specialties as: internal medicine, general practitioner, family medicine, psychiatry, endocrinology, etc. -- in other words, bariatrics is not their only area of practice. In the other 30% of the cases, they concentrate ONLY in bariatrics (a level which was higher when Oprah Winfrey generated tremendous publicity for liquid protein diets back in 1989).

All states give written exams to license a physician, and some states do have reciprocity agreements. However, the ASBP is the leading physician/clinician education provider in the field.

One main advantage for overweight persons to see a bariatrician, instead of commercial diet plans, is that obese persons may have other medical problems they don't know exist (i.e. diabetes), which are discovered by the bariatrician. More extensive medical monitoring, long-term support, alternative medication therapies, and partial reimbursement by medical insurance are other advantages. In addition, appetite suppressant medication therapy may work, where dietary restrictions have failed in the past.

Formed in 1950, the American Society of Bariatric Physicians (ASBP) is a national, non-profit professional association of physicians with a membership that had swelled to a record 1,560 by year-end 1997, compared to 750 in early 1996. This doubling of the ranks in just two years was due to the rush by many doctors to get a piece of the phen/fen and Redux market. Currently, the association has about 1,200 members.

This society represents about one-third of all bariatricians in the country. These doctors have a special interest in the study and treatment of the obese patient and in the medical health conditions associated with being overweight. The society encourages excellence in the practice of bariatric medicine through continuing post-grad medical education, the exchange of obesity information, and research on the prevention, cause, course, effects and treatment of obesity.