by Claude Beaulieu ,  CJAD | 2009-05-15

The Quebec government has found money to greatly increase the availability of treatment for severe, or "morbid" obesity.

There are roughly 300-thousand quebecers who suffer from morbid obesity, for which the only effective treatment  is bariatric, or "weight-loss" surgery.  But the typical wait period for such surgery is between five and seven years, during which time the patient is exposed to a host of potentially-deadly diseases, including type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, bone disease, and cancer.

Health minister Yves Bolduc says the province is injecting 29-million dollars to buy the necessary equipment and train the personnel to shorten the wait period for bariatric surgery to less than six months and ensure post-operative follow-ups.