Post-Gastric Bypass Surgery, Get Restaurant Discounts

In a weirdly backwards move, more and more restaurants are providing discounts for gastric bypass patients, since they will eat smaller portions.

NPR reports that surgeons are issuing Weight Loss Surgery (WLS) cards for patients with reduced stomach volumes, asking restaurants to allow them to order smaller portions at a discounted price.

Apparently, these WLS cards have been around since the 1990s, but nowadays Cracker Barrel restaurants, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, and even Golden Corral "all-you-can-eat" buffets are accepting the card.

But while the surgery and the cards are becoming more popular, surgeons want to remind patients that weight loss is dependent on changing habits, and dining out might not be a good idea.

"I definitely discourage patients from going to buffet-style restaurants — it's a danger for everybody," Ann Rogers, director at Penn State Surgical Weight Loss Program, told NPR.

Rogers notes that stomach surgery is not a permanent weight loss cure, so changing eating habits is the long-term solution. "The [hunger] hormones go down and stay down for a year or two. But, slowly, the hunger starts to come back," Rogers says.