A surgical specialist emphasized on the benefits of bariatric surgery for the obese and claimed that obese people were being discriminated against.

Speaking this month at the Royal New Zealand College of GPs conference in Christchurch, Dr. Richard Flint opined that a lot of prejudice was prevalent against the obese people and they were not even provided the much needed treatment.

He added that despite the immense benefits of the surgery, shortage of funds was the prime reason that hampered people from getting the treatment surgery.

It is reported that the patients in Canterbury are not provided bariatric surgery, since the public health system had no provision for the same.

Dr. Flint posited that several operations were being conducted in Christchurch on everyday basis, even though those operations had `less-proven benefits'.

"We are saying we need more money", asserted Dr. Flint and added that due to the inadequate funding as many as 200 Cantabrians were on the waiting list, since they fell under the publicly funded option.

Highlighting the benefits of the surgery, Flint said that an obese patient's risk of cancer was halved. Further, the surgery can be considered as an overnight cure for diabetes.

It is believed that the single scientifically proven way to maintain weight loss is the surgery, which led to the reduction in the size of the stomach of an obese person.